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A 







LEAVITT'S PEAT IIVLIILXj, 
Improved 1BTO. 



PEAT FUEL: 



HOW TO M^KE IT. 



AND 



HOW TO USE IT. 



CONTAINING 

A DESCRIPTION OF AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND IMPROVED 

MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING 

THE FUEL. 

ALSO, A VARIETY OF INFORMATION CONCERNING PEAT FUEL, ITS 

PROPERTIES, USES, AND VALUE ; TOGETHER WITH OPINIONS 

CONCERNING IT, AS EXPRESSED BY CORRESPONDENTS 

IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, AND 

BY THE NEWSPAPER PRESS. 

ALSO, DIRECTIONS WHERE TO OBTAIN FURTHER INFORMATION, 

RELIABLE AND MORE EXTENDED, UPON 

THIS SUBJECT. 




SOME OR ALL OF WHICH, IT IS PRESUMED, WILL BE CONSIDERED 

WORTHY THE ATTENTION OF PARTIES INTERESTED 

IN THE SUBJECT OF CHEAP FUEL. 



By T. H. LEAVITT 




LEE 



BOSTON: 

AND S H E I> A. R, D. 

1870. 






^ 



A 



S> 



\ 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

5 

Description of Peat Mill. 7 

Remarks. . . . n 

Fire and Fuel. n 

Peat as an Article of Fuel 13 

Efforts to prepare it for Use 14 

The Uses of Peat Fuel 15 

Process of Manufacture 18 

Results . . . 19 

Condensed Peat 19 

Mixed Fuels. 19 

Treatment. 19 

Buildings required. 20 

Character and Quality of Peats 20 

Laborers required. . . . . . . . . 21 

Cost of Manufacture. 22 

Cost of Peat Works 22 

Product of one Machine. ....... 22 

Peat Works on a Large Scale 23 

Practical Observations concerning Peat Beds and the Work- 
ing of Peat .24 

Drying Peat. . . .26 

Correspondence, etc 27 

Failures, Disappointments, and lack of Success. . • • 37 

A Word of Caution and Encouragement. 39 

Count the Cost and the Gain. ...... 39 

Importance of the Peat Fuel Enterprise 40 

Comparative Value of Peat Fuel 41 

Economy of Peat. . . 41 

3 



4 

Peat and Coal: — The Difference 42 

Peat Fuel improves by Age. 43 

Specific Gravity and Weight of Peat 43 

Intensity of Heat generated by Peat. .... 43 

Peat Fuel for Steam Service 44 

Peat for Locomotives, and How to Use it. 46 

Peat in the Manufacture of Iron and the Working of Metals. 48 

Peat Fuel for Domestic Purposes 51 

Peat Fuel for Cooking 52 

Peat Fuel for Invalids. 52 

Appliances for burning Peat Fuel. 53 

How to use Peat Fuel. ....... 53 

Use Peat Fuel understandingly 55 

Gas from Peat. ......... 57 

Peat for Gunpowder. 58 

What is the Market for Peat Fuel? ...... 59 

Extent of Peat Deposits in America 60 

Coal Dust and Peat 61 

Peat as a Fertilizer. 62 

Facts about Peat. 63 

Table of Contents of the Work entitled " Facts about Peat." — 

Appendix to the same Work — 

Opinions of the Press — 




The prime object of this publication is to call attention to 
an improved process and improved machinery for the manu- 
facture of Peat Fuel, which are described and illustrated in 
the following pages. 

But, as an intelligent opinion concerning the value, impor- 
tance, or practicability of these can hardly be supposed 
to be had from a description alone, I have deemed it proper 
to add a few facts and statements bearing upon the subject 
of peat, and its manufacture and use, in such variety as to 
afford, at least, brief reply to many of the inquiries which 
would naturally be made concerning it ; to which I have 
added extracts from letters received from all parts of the 
country, most of them of very recent date, together with 
brief reports of a few trials of the fuel, -not before pub- 
lished ; which are given as illustrative of the present interest 
in the enterprise, and accumulating testimony concerning the 
value of the fuel, and the practicability of producing and 
using it. 

(5) 



Those who would learn still more in relation to the subject, 
will find it thoroughly treated of in the book entitled 

Facts about Peat, third edition, revised and enlarged, 
published by Lee & Shepakd, 149 Washington Street, Bos- 
ton : price $1.75, — which will be forwarded by mail, to any 
address, on receipt of the price, by the publishers, or by 
Orange Jddd & Co., 41 Park Row, New York. 

And in order that the character of that work may be 
understood, I have, by permission of the publishers, printed 
from their stereotype plates, and appended hereto, the table 
of "Contents," with some "Opinions of the Press," &c., 



concerning it. 



I have also added to this, a part of the " Appendix " of the* 
work above referred to, consisting mainly of extracts from 
newspapers from all parts of the country, the perusal of 
which will be found of interest, while at the same time they 
indicate a unanimity of desire and harmony of views upon 
this subject of u peat fuel," " cheap fuel," and " good fuel," 
that is rarely observed, or voluntarily expressed, concerning 
any new enterprise, to such an extent as is here apparent. 

T. H. L. 

N. B. I shall esteem it a favor to be informed at any 
time, by any person, of any facts, however trifling, bearing 
upon this subject, and shall endeavor to make proper use of 
them in aid of the common cause of cheap fuel. 



LEAYITT'S 

Hap- IMPROVED j^ 

Condensing and Moulding Mill 

FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF 

PEAT FUEL. 



These machines are simple, compact, strong, and effectual 
for the purpose required. 

As at present constructed, they possess important improve- 
ments over anything heretofore operated, either in this coun- 
try or in Europe ; overcoming difficulties hitherto considered 
insurmountable, and attaining results which, until recently, 
have been pronounced impracticable ; and, as the result of 
persistent investigation, and long-continued and thorough 
practical operation, are believed to embody, in the most 
simple manner possible, all the essential requisites for pro- 
ducing from peat the best fuel, in large quantities, in good 
merchant-able shape, and at the least cost. 

An essential feature of these machines, and this process 
of manufacture, is, that a portion of the water contained 
in the crude peat is extracted by mechanical means in 
the process of manufacture, leaving the blocks, as they 
come from the mill, dense, strong, and in condition to be 
haked or piled up under cover and left to cure. 

This is a result which has never before been attained. 

It should be understood, however, that under almost any 
circumstances it is better to expose it in the open air, for 



a short time at least, before housing it. 



ao 



8 

Another marked peculiarity of this process, as shown in 
its results, is, that the original organization of the peat is 
entirely destroyed, and instead of a soft, porous, sponge-like 
mass, we find, as a product, a material having more the 
appearance of a mineral substance, which breaks with a 
fracture similar to stone, and which, even when finely pulver- 
ized, can never again be dissolved in water, but retains per- 
manently its mineral-like qualities. 

The cost for labor and power to manufacture the fuel is 
less than two dollars per ton. 

The machines are of two sizes : one is of the capacity of 
eighty tons of crude peat per day of ten hours, producing 
forty thousand blocks, measuring 10X4X2J- inches, weigh- 
ing about four pounds each, and yielding, when dry, a prod- 
uct of from twenty to twenty -five tons of good merchantable 
fuel. 

Requires about six-horse power to operate it to its full 
capacity. 

Weighs about two and a half tons. 

Price, twenty-two hundred dollars. 

The other is of double the capacity of the one above de- 
scribed, say one hundred and sixty tons of crude peat per 
day, producing eighty thousand blocks of same size, and 
yielding a product of from forty to fifty tons of good mer- 
chantable fuel. 

Requires about ten-horse power to operate it. 

Weighs about three and a half tons. 

Price, three thousand dollars. 

Machines of similar construction, but without the appara- 
tus for extracting water, can be furnished for $1,000, and 
$1,500. 

These prices cover also the right to use, free from any 
royalty or extra charge, under my Letters Patent. 

The " capacity " stated above indicates their fair working 
service, but they can be gauged to run at half or quarter 
speed, — and arc 1 , also capable of being run to nearly double 
the quantity stated. 



The machines are boxed and shipped in such manner 
as to be easily and safely transported to any part of the 
country. 

Carefully prepared instructions, in detail, for setting up 
and running, are sent with each machine ; so clear and dis- 
tinct, that with no more than ordinary tact and ability they 
may be set up and operated without difficulty or hinderance. 

The machines are complete, with driving pulleys attached, 
and ready to receive the belt as soon as set up. 
* They are more perfectly constructed machines than have 
ever before been produced for the purpose, or than most 
people are prepared to look for, are strong, thoroughly built, 
accurately adjusted, and not only meet the approval, but 
receive the unqualified commendation of numerous experi- 
enced machinists and engineers, and are, withal, attrac- 
tive in style and operation. 

They are very simple in construction and operation, and 
are easily managed. 

[^y The machines are built, to order only ; and for this 
reason, it is desirable that parties wishing to purchase 
should give their orders in ample season, so as to avoid the 
possible delay which might otherwise occur, though they can 
generally be furnished at short notice. 

I^p 3 A machine can be seen in operation any day, in a build- 
ing near my office, in Boston, and parties interested are 
invited to inspect it thoroughly. 

T. H. LEAVITT, 

No. 41 Kilby Street, Boston. 



Also a smaller mill, portable, can be run by steam or 
horse power, capable of turning out the material for six 
to ten tons of dry fuel per clay. Price $600. Weio-ht 
about 2500 lbs. 

Desirable for farmer's use or where several can club 
together to make fuel for their own families or for sale. 



PEAT AS AN ARTICLE OE FUEL. 






REMARKS. 

Notwithstanding a somewhat prevalent idea to the con- 
trary, it is nevertheless a, fact, that the peat fuel enterprise 
is quietly, but steadily and surely working its way to a very 
strong hold upon public favor ; and that, too, solely upon its 
intrinsic merits. 

This statement is made from a wide range of personal 
intercourse and correspondence, and the indications are plain 
and undeniable. 

That this will have an important bearing upon the price 
of fuel generally, and especially upon the monopolies in the 
coal trade, none can question ; while as a legitimate business, 
claiming attention through a region of country far exceed- 
ing in. extent our coal fields, it gives promise of success to a 
degree rarely apparent at so early a stage in any enterprise ; 
and for the on£ prominent reason, above all others, that the 
people have a common interest in it. 

FIRE AND FUEL. 

" The importance which in every age, from the earliest 
period of human existence, must have been attached to fire, 
and the necessity which has ever impelled mankind to provide 
for it, not so much for purposes of luxury, as an absolute 
essential to enable them to counteract the effects of climate, 
and other external influences which affect the human frame, 

(id 



12 

are sufficient, apart from any other considerations, to impress 
every one with a sense of its usefulness." 

Some kind of fuel has always been an article of prime 
necessity to man ; at least from the time when he began to 
prepare his food by the heat of fire, or had learned to prize 
its comfortable warmth in the cold of winter. As experience 
was gained in the properties and uses of materials about him, 
the applications of fuel to supply his increased wants were 
multiplied. 

But the comparatively modern discovery of its being the 
most available source of motive-power has given to it a new 
importance hardly inferior to that derived from its other 
uses ; causing it to contribute, more than all other resources 
of nations, to their wealth and prosperity. 

The means of obtaining this, then, are of chief impor- 
tance in every manufacture ; and the questions of its supply, 
preparation, and most economical application, are of the 
highest interest. 

The substances usually employed as fuel are wood, coal, 
and peat, either in their natural state, or modified by pecu- 
liar treatment. 

The abundance of all or either of these in a country, must 
always constitute a principal source of its wealth, more 
especially since steam has become the moving power of 
manufacturing industry, as well as the great agent in loco- 
motion. 

It is evident, therefore, that none of the productions of 
nature should be more carefully husbanded than those which 
can be used for fuel. 

Every attempt also to improve the quality of inferior 
materials, so as to increase their efficiency as heat-pro- 
ducers, and consequently their value, should be liberally 
encouraged. 

For objects requiring a quick heat, and at the same time 
diffused over a considerable space, the most inflammable 
fuels are found most efficient. 

The results of numerous experiments, practical as well as 



13 

scientific, go to show that peat, in its rudely-prepared state, 
goes far toward answering these requirements ; and, when 
solidified, it is for most purposes superior. 

Wood, peat, and coal, though so different in physical ap- 
pearance, are nevertheless very closely allied in composition : 
all the three being chiefly composed of ligneous fibre, a com- 
pound of four simple elements, — carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, 
and nitrogen. 

Physical effects have induced certain changes in some 
kinds of peat and coal, which cause them to differ consider- 
ably in their properties from woody fibre; but, data are 
found, quite sufficient to warrant the inference that both are 
of vegetable origin. 

PEAT AS AN ARTICLE OF FUEL. 

Of wood and coal in all their variety, the manner of pre- 
paration, and use as fuel for domestic and manufacturing 
purposes, the community may be said to need no informa- 
tion ; their use is so common and universal that all have 
constant practical experience of their nature and value. 

Not so with peat : it is by no means so generally used. 
Its value may be said to be entirely unknown to many ; and 
even those who have used it in its crude state do not 
appear to realize the increased value it would possess, and 
the extent to which it might be used, especially for man- 
ufacturing purposes, if properly prepared, and placed in the 
market. 

We have, then, to treat of it, to some extent, as a new 
article ; and, without in anywise attempting or pretending 
to offer all that might be said of it, it will be our aim to 
give briefly, in these pages, just enough of facts and sugges- 
tions to stimulate to further inquiry and to interest the com- 
munity in the development and use of those rich resources 
of fuel which lie about us, in quantities sufficient for the 
demands for ages, and which require only ordinary enter- 
prise and skill, with moderate means to develop. 



14 

Peat, when properly cured, bums freely, gives a steady 
and intense heat, and the uniform testimony of those who 
use it bears witness to its superiority in many respects. 

For the great purposes of commerce and manufactures, 
something more is necessary than merely to take the peat 
from its native bed. As it comes from the earth, it is 
porous, more or less filled with roots, fibres, and undecom- 
posed matter. In this state it is spongy and bulky, consumes 
easily, and with comparative rapidity. When purified, and 
made dense, it furnishes a fuel which, for intensity of heat 
and durability, as well as cheapness, is superior to the best 
charcoal, and for many purposes better than anthracite. 

EFFORTS TO PREPARE IT FOR USE. 

Much has been done, both in this country and Europe, to 
demonstrate its properties and value ; and it seems to have 
been a common aim of all who have undertaken its manu- 
facture or use, to condense and solidify it, and put it in 
merchantable shape. 

The number and variety of machines and devices which 
have been invented, patented, or attempted to be used for 
these purposes, are astonishing ; and, although all have 
agreed that such results were practicable, few have actually 
arrived at anything like a satisfactory method of preparing 
it ; and none, until recently, so far as we are aware, have 
arrived at that complete success which is essential to the 
profitable and universal introduction^ of an article of this 
character. 

It is now apparent that most of the attempts referred to 
have failed of success from the fact that the nature of the 
article was not comprehended ; and the principle generally 
started upon — to wit, that it could be condensed and pro- 
duced in good merchantable shape by means of powerful 
jjressure, applied in one form or another — was icrong. 

This will hardly be credited ; but facts prove it to be the 
case. 



15 

Peat is a curious substance, possessing peculiarities of a 
very interesting character. 

The fact that it is exceedingly elastic, presenting in this 
respect some of the characteristics of India-rubber or gutta- 
percha, and also that it is remarkably tenacious of water, 
will account to "some extent for the impossibility of produc- 
ing, by pressure alone, a solid, dry substance. 

A process has, however, recently been discovered and 
applied, by which peat may be converted into a solid, dry 
fuel, in good shape, in large quantities, and at moderate 
cost. It is demonstrated, beyond a question, to be a perfect 
success. m 

The machinery is exceedingly simple in its construction 
and operation, and is by no means expensive, compared with 
the amount and value of the fuel produced by it. 

Like most inventions of the present day it has been 
patented ; but it is the aim of the parties having the control 
of the matter to encourage and stimulate the manufacture 
of the fuel, and to this end they are granting the right to 
work under their patents, and furnishing the necessary 
machinery and instructions at rates which are within the 
reach of any enterprising man. 

THE USES OF PEAT FUEL. 

Of the purposes to which peat as a fuel can be applied, 
and the manner in which it can be used, the range is as wide 
as for wood or coal, or both. 

For domestic purposes, — as the heating of dwellings, 
whether by furnace, or any of the innumerable varieties of 
stoves, or the open grate, — it is equal, if not superior, to 
wood or coal of any kind, save only the fact that it requires 
in most cases, to be replenished more frequently than coal ; 
but it gives a more steady, intense, yet mellow and agreeable 
heat than any other fuel. In open grates, as a substitute 
for cannel coal, it is admirable, and produces the most cheer- 
ful fire imaginable. 



16 

In manufacturing and mechanical establishments it is 
available wherever fuel is required, and for many purposes 
possesses characteristics which render it decidedly superior ; 
as, for instance, the production of iron and steel, and the 
working and manufacture of them, where the simple fact of 
the entire absence of sulphur, or any substance prejudicial 
to the quality of the metal, is a consideration of immense 
value. 

For generating steam, it is, when solidified, second to no 
other fuel, and superior to most. It ignites freely ; burns 
with considerable flame ; gives an intense heat ; and leaves 
no residuum except a fine light ash, which passes off freely, 
and leaves the grate-bars always free ai5d clear, — a consid- 
eration which will be readily appreciated by any fireman or 
engineer who has had a single day's experience with the 
dross and clinker, which is inevitable where coal is used. 

A mass of facts have from time to time been published, 
which go to prove the truth of these statements ; and the 
few which we shall be able to give in these pages, and 
the authorities to which we shall make reference, will, we 
think, satisfy even the most sceptical that the subject is at 
least worthy of investigation and experiment. 

If, then, we have at our own doors an article of fuel equal 
or superior to that which we now bring from a great distance, 
and upon which we are, and for many years have been, 
mainly dependent, is it not apparent that an immense field 
for enterprise is open to us, even though the actual gain 
were confined to the single item of cost of transportation 
saved? But it is probably true, that, iu ordinary times, 
peat can be excavated, prepared, and cured ready for use, at 
less cost than coal can be mined and prepared for ship- 
ment. 

Through a very large portion of the territory of the 
Northern States, the deposits of peat are so freely distrib- 
uted, that it would probably average as near a market or 
place of consumption as does the ordinary supply of wood 
now used for domestic purposes. 



17 

For the supply of iron works, machine shops, and manu- 
facturing establishments, whether for the purpose of work- 
ing the metals, or generating steam for power, it will, in 
most cases, be found that deposits of peat lie within a short 
distance of the place of consumption ; and for some of our 
largest establishments, requiring immense amounts of fuel, 
it is known that supplies of an extent equal to their require- 
ments for many years lie almost at their doors. 

So, too, for our railroads, peat is the fnel. It is easily 
handled ; ignites almost instantly ; burns freely, leaving no 
residuum excepting light ashes, so that the grate-bars are 
always clean ; and generates steam in a manner to charm 
the most exacting engineer. 

There are along the line of every railroad in New Eng- 
land, deposits of excellent peat, equal to their requirements 
for years to come ; and it would seem more than probable, 
in view of all these facts, that, within a very short time, 
many of our manufacturing establishments and all our rail- 
roads will have each their own peat-meadow and fuel-fac- 
tory : the practical results of which will be, as relates to 
manufacturing establishments, either a reduction in cost 
to the consumer of the articles and fabrics produced, or 
increased dividends to stockholders, or both ; as relates to 
metals, and the various articles into which they are manu- 
factured, superior quality, temper, etc., and a consequent 
increase of value, without increase of cost ; and as relates 
to steam power for transportation by land or water, a dimi- 
nution of cost, which may inure, by the reduction of rates, 
to the benefit of the travelling and commercial interests, or, 
without reduction of rates, to the gain of stockholders ; or, 
by such management as may be most reasonably anticipated, 
the results would in all probability prove favorable to the 
interests of all concerned. 
2 



18 

THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE. 

The machine before referred to, occupies a space of about 
five by ten feet on the floor, and is ten feet high. It receives 
the crude peat just as it is taken from the bogs, relieves it, 
at once, of a portion of the water contained in it, cuts up 
any sticks, roots or fibrous material which may be mingled 
with it, crushes the entire mass and ejects from it the air, of 
which a large amount is contained in its cells, and taking 
advantage of some of the natural properties of the material, 
develops, by simple but uniform and severe treatment, its 
plastic and adhesive properties, while at the same time the 
particles* are drawn out, laminated, and packed in such man- 
ner that it forms a dense mass in the nature of felt, having 
strength and cohesion, indeed it may at this stage be called 
a wet felt. 

In this condition it is formed into blocks, in strong moulds, 
having porous sides, and each block is submitted to power- 
ful pressure, not for the purpose of compacting it or increas- 
ing its density, for in this condition it will dry nearly as hard 
as coal ; but for the purpose of extracting, at this stage, an 
additional portion of the moisture, which, until this time 
it had been necessary to retain in the mass, for its proper 
treatment. 

The blocks are then delivered in rapid and uniform suc- 
cession upon boards 30 X 10 inches in size, each of which re- 
ceives six blocks, and are easily handled, or the blocks may 
be delivered upon an endless belt, carried by this means to 
any distance from the machine, and removed at pleasure. 

They may be housed at once and left to cure aud dry like 
wood, or they may be exposed in the open air like brick, for 
a short time, which expedites the process of drying, if haste 
is required. 

By another very simple arrangement, in the nature of a 
heater, within the body of the mill, but occupying very little 
space, the pulp or felt is brought to a fcigh temperature just 
before it is packed in the moulds, and the blocks, as deliv- 



19 

ered, are hot, so that the process of evaporation commences 
at once, not from a heated surface, alone, but from the heated 
mass entire, and must continue to a degree which could not 
otherwise be produced, — until the heat in the block is 
exhausted, accomplishing by this means, in a single hour, 
what could hardly be realized in a day or days under ordin- 
ary methods of treatment. 

RESULTS. 

The process is exceedingly simple, rapid, and successful, 
and show's results which have never before been realized. 

CONDENSED PEAT. 

The fuel prepared by this process is called condensed peat, 
in contradistinction from compressed peat ; the material being 
absolutely condensed without pressure ; the pressure which 
is applied, as above stated, being simply for the purpose of 
extracting moisture, but not for compacting the'mass. 

MIXED FUELS. 

By a slight modification of the machinery, it is practicable 
to produce a. variety of mixed fuels (peat beifltg the basis), 
such as are sometimes required for specific purposes. 

The mixture of coal dust is accomplished most perfectly, 
— and highly inflammable fuels are produced by the mixture 
of certain oils, tar, asphaltum, and resinous substances, in 
given proportions, as required. 

Crushed ores, for smelting, are also compounded with peat, 
by this arrangement, to great advantage. 

TREATMENT. 

The principles involved in the treatment of peat by the 
process before referred to, are demonstrated to be correct. 

The machinery is carefully adapted for the carrying out 
of the process, in all its details. 



20 

Of the various stages of treatment now combined in this 
process, I have had some in operation for several years, 
gaining by each year's experience something in the mode of 
application, while others are of comparatively recent intro- 
duction. 

The original organization of the peat is entirely destroyed, 
and instead of a soft, porous, sponge-like mass, we have as 
a product, a material more of the consistency and appear- 
ance of coal, which breaks with a fracture similar to stone, 
and which can never again be dissolved in water, but retains 
permanently its mineral like qualities. 

BUILDINGS REQUIRED. 

The buildings for sheltering the machinery and housing 
the fuel should be located on dry ground, near to and by the 
side of the bog, and may be of the most inexpensive char- 
acter. 

For one set of machinery, with engine and boiler, a 
building twenty by twenty feet is large enough ; and, for 
each additional set of machinery, ten feet in length should 
be added. 

The most desirable location for this building .is on a side- 
hill ; so that, while the machinery is placed on the lower 
floor, the crude material may be easily hauled to the level 
of the second floor, and there dumped by the cart-load into 
the top of the mill. 

The height between floors in this building should be ten 
feet. 

The other buildings required are simply for shelter of the 
fuel ; and their extent must, of course, be regulated by the 
amount manufactured. 

CHARACTER AND QUALITY OF PEATS. 

Peat varies in its character very materially in different 
localities ; but as a general thing, we estimate that it is 



21 

reduced in the process of manufacture about two-thirds 
to three-quarters, both in weight and bulk, according to the 
character or composition of the crude material, and the drain- 
age of the meadow or bog from which it is cut. 

Peat from a well-drained meadow, retaining, of course, 
less water in the mass, is much more conveniently and 
economically manufactured than that from a meadow which 
is constantly overflowed ; and the shrinkage, it will readily 
be understood, is less. 

The character o£ peat depends mainly upon the vegetable 
growth from which it is formed, and the 'purity of the ma- 
terial depends much upon its locality and surroundings, that 
is whether sand or earth have been allowed to wash or blow 
in and mix with it. 

Peats differ in density as well as woods, there being as 
wide difference in deposits of peat, as between pine wood 
and lignumvitas. 

From the best peats we can, of course, produce a supe- 
rior article of hard, dry fuel ; but an essential feature of our 
process is, that we are able to produce, with equal ease, a 
fair fuel from inferior and comparatively worthless crude 
material. 

LABORERS REQUIRED. 

Aside from the engineer, five men are required to operate 
this machine, — that is, two men to feed the peat into the 
mill, one man (or a hoy) to place the boards (thirty inches 
by ten inches) in position to receive the blocks of peat as 
they come from the mill, and two men to remove the blocks 
from the mill. 

The largest size machine requires the attention of about 
ten men, their principal employment being to feed the crude 
peat into the mill and remove from, it the blocks as they are 
produced. 

The laborers employed, with the exception of the engineer, 
may be of the least expensive class. 



22 

Either size of machines can be adjusted at pleasure, to run 
at either increased or diminished rate of speed, and with 
greater or less yield of manufactured material than is indi- 
cated in the foregoing statement. 

Additional labor is, of course, required, to cut the peat 
and haul it to the mill, and also to remove the material when 
manufactured, and spread, house, or store it. 

The cost of this, as is readily seen, must depend much 
upon the location and surroundings, but can be easily esti- 
mated by each individual in their own case. 

COST OF MANUFACTUEE. 

The most liberal estimates, rating wages even as high as 
two dollars per day for men and one dollar for boys (which 
is higher than we have ever paid), corroborated by repeated 
statements of those who have manufactured the fuel, fail to 
make the entire cost for all the labor of cutting, hauling, 
manufacturing, housing, and storage, amount to more than 
one dollar and fifty cents per ton ; while the statement re- 
peatedly made, that the cost for labor need not exceed two 
dollars per ton, is believed to cover more than a fair allow- 
ance above the actual cost, for any contingencies, accidents, 
or delays, likely to occur in any properly managed establish- 
ment. 

COST OF PEAT WORKS. 

The cost of a machine, with engine, boiler, shafting, and 
the building in which to place and operate it, should be 
about five thousand dollars. 

ntODUCT OF ONE MACHINE. 

One machine turns out the material for about twenty to 
twenty-five tons of fuel per day, cacli ton of which is equal 
in value to a cord of the best oak wood, sawed, split, and 
ready for use, which is rarely so low as eight dollars per cord, 



23 

and often, in our cities, at least, reaches fifteen dollars per 
cord of six cord feet instead of eight. 

Estimating, then, the value of the peat at five dollars per 
ton at the works, which, it will be allowed, places it fairly 
under the head of " cheap fuel," the product of a day's man- 
ufacture would be one hundred to one hundred and twenty- 
five dollars, — from this deduct for cost, as before stated, two 
dollars per ton, say forty to fifty dollars, and we have a gain 
of sixty to seventy-five dollars per day, and the credit of sell- 
ing good fuel, cheap, at that. 

If, then, out of the season, which is from April to October, 
seven months, we run only one hundred days, the gain will 
amount to from six thousand to seventy -five hundred dollars 
— or if one hundred and fifty days, which is a fairer esti- 
mate, the gain, at the same rate, would amount to from nine 
thousand to eleven thousand two hundred and fifty dollars. 

In either case it shows a business of no inconsiderable 
gain, especially when we take into consideration the small 
amount of capital required to start and conduct it, compared 
with the results. 

PEAT WORKS ON A LARGE SCALE. 

The cost, as above stated, is for the product of one set of 
machinery ; but, where several machines are to be operated 
in one establishment, and the business to be conducted on an 
extensive scale, the cost pro rata will be very much reduced, 
as the expense for building and engine and boiler will be but 
slightly increased, one man can easily superintend several 
machines, the laborers generally can be employed to better 
advantage, and numerous mechanical appliances, to save 
manual labor and expedite the operations, which it would 
not be advisable to construct where a single machine only 
was to be run, may be economically introduced on more ex- 
tensive works. The profit of such an establishment will 
therefore be largely in excess of smaller works. 



24 



PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING PEAT BEDS 
AND THE WORKING OF PEAT. 

Some data concerning peat beds and the product of manu- 
facture may be of interest. We threfore give the following 
as some of the results of our own observation, from repeated 
practical tests at the works at East Lexington, Mass., about 
ten miles from Boston. 

A cubic foot of crude peat, as taken from a well-drained 
bog, weighs from fifty to fifty-five pounds. 

This same quantity is condensed by the machinery in 
use at the works above mentioned, from thirty to forty per 
cent., according to the character or structure of the material, 
and that, too, before it is relieved from any of the water 
contained in the mass. In addition to this, the weight and 
bulk are both still further reduced, by the recent improve- 
ments for extracting water. 

In this state it is formed into blocks of convenient size 
and shape, which may then be removed to sheds, or exposed 
for more rapid curing, in the open air. 

Evaporation of the remaining moisture is greatly acceler- 
ated by the treatment the material has received while passing 
through the condensing mill, and on exposure in the open 
air is found to dry very quickly ; but, of course, w r hen shel- 
tered or removed from the direct action of sun and wind, it 
dries or cures more slowly. 

Its bulk is diminished by the forcible ejection of the air 
and a portion of the water contained in its cells, in the pro- 
cess of manufacture, and still further by the evaporation of 
the remaining moisture, while its weight is diminished solely 
by the loss of water. 

A ton of wet peat, as cut, will measure about forty cubic 
feet ; and about one hundred and sixty cubic feet of crude 
material are required to produce one ton of dry fuel. Some 
very compart peats, however, require not more than one 
hundred and forty, or even one hundred and twenty cubic 
feet for a ton of dry fuel. 



25 

One block, as it comes moist from the moulds, measures 
10 X 4 X 2^- inches (= 100 cubic inches), and weighs about 
four pounds. 

The machines turn out respectively forty thousand and 
eighty thousand of these blocks per day. 

The best place to dry the blocks is on the grass, in the 
open air, where they dry most rapidly and uniformly. 

Of these blocks, as they come from the mill, about five 
hundred weigh over a ton, and when thoroughly dry, a ton 
in weight will be found to measure about thirty-five to thirty- 
eight bushels, 

Peat, like wood, is undoubtedly much improved in quality, 
when housed and allowed to cure for a season, say three to 
six months, but it can be used very shortly after it is manu- 
factured, especially if exposed for a short time, say one to 
six days (according to temperature, &c.) in the open air. 

An acre of peat, of fair quality, well drained, if one foot 
in depth, will generally contain one thousand to twelve hun- 
dred tons, yielding two hundred and fifty to three hundred 
and fifty tons of dry fuel. Greater depths in proportion. 

Few peats, however well drained, contain less than fifty 
per cent, of water, and most contain sixty-five to eighty-five 
per cent. 

Our own estimates have always been made on seventy-five 
per cent, of moisture, which is safe ; but it is quite probable 
that seventy per cent, would be fair in the majority of well- 
drained meadows. 

When best drained, peat is worked to the best advantage, 
both as regards economy of labor and the quantity and 
quality of fuel produced. 

Peats vary much in their heating properties, as do woods 
and coals, according to their growth and composition. The 
most thoroughly decomposed and compact deposits yield, 
when manufactured, the most dense fuel, at no greater cost 
for labor than the lighter and more porous material, and are 
therefore the cheapest. 

Pure moss peats are invariably good. The most resinous 



26 

peats are shown to be the most valuable,, especially for gen- 
erating steam and for the production of gas. 

Although peat fuel, properly manufactured, will stand 
considerable exposure to the weather, it will inevitably be 
injured to some extent by the rain and snow, sun and frost, 
if left uncovered long after it is fit for use ; and every manu- 
facturer and consumer will find it to be the wiser course, if 
he has a good article of fuel, to provide a suitable place for 
it, and take good care of it. 

DRYING PEAT. 

Frequent inquiry is made as to the practicability of drying 
peat by artificial means, and the best method of accomplish- 
ing it. That it can be dried by artificial means has been 
satisfactorily demonstrated ; but we are by no means pre- 
pared to say, that the best and most economical method for 
accomplishing it has yet been devised. 

A great variety of kilns are in operation, some ot them 
certified and acknowledged to work almost to perfection in 
drying lumber, cotton, tobacco, etc. ; but wet peat is obsti- 
nate, — will not yield kindly to the same treatment, — in fact 
U " a poser." 

Its structure is entirely different from any of the materials 
mentioned above, and its peculiar properties must be con- 
sidered in any process, which shall be successful in its treat- 
ment. Other points to be considered in perfecting a process 
for artificial drying, aside from the first cost of buildings 
and apparatus, are, the time required, the expense for fuel 
and labor, and the quality and characteristics of the fuel 
produced, as affected by the manner of drying. 

We have no idea that artificial drying will be resorted to, to 
any extent, during good weather in the summer, at present ; 
for Nature accomplishes the work for us, when she does it at 
all, better than art can, and at much less expense, for sun- 
shiue and wind cost nothing ; but in stormy weather, and 
during the winter season, it would, in some cases, be desira- 



27 

ble to resort to it ; though the process, now first successfully- 
introduced, of extracting a large portion of the water by 
mechanical means, leaves so small an amount of moisture in 
the mass, that the necessity for artificial drying is in a great 
measure done away with, or, if resorted to at all, may 
probably be accomplished by much more simple and less 
expensive means and appliances than have heretofore been 
found necessary. 

A light current of heated air, passing over and through 
the mass of peat, is what is required : the details of build- 
ings, mechanical arrangement of the apparatus, and cost of 
fuel and labor, by which to attain the best results in the 
most rapid and economical manner, are points which cannot 
be said to have been sufficiently elucidated to admit of 
writing definitely in regard to them. 

Steady progress is being made, and time, skill, and enter- 
prise are sure to demonstrate the best method of artificial 
drying. 

We have repsatedly, in good weather, by the improve- 
ments in our own process, manufactured a good fuel for loco- 
motive service, in four days from the bog, and expect during 
the coming season, to do it in two days, with equal ease. 

CORRESPONDENCE, &c. 

The following extracts, mostly from very recent letters, 
including a few reports relating to the use of this fuel, not 
before published, are given as illustrative of the present inter- 
est in the enterprise, and as additional testimony concerning 
the value of peat for various purposes, and the want felt for 
it in many parts of the country. 

Many of them are from parties occupying responsible posi- 
tions in the business community, and whose opinions are 
entitled to respectful consideration. 

From Pine Plains, Dutchess County, N. Y. 
I have used a few cords for common fuel without manufac- 
ture ; this, however, is not advantageous. 



28 

Had we good machines, at a price that we could afford to 
manufacture it, it would here supercede the use of coal. 

From Nantucket, Mass. 
There is a large extent of bog on this island, more or less 
fuel is prepared every summer, and it can be delivered on the 
wharf at about fifteen cents per. bushel. 

From Horicon, Wisconsin. 

We are running a steam planing-mill, have an abundance 
of peat of good quality within a mile of our mill, and are 
thinking of using it for fuel ; have trkd it, and know that it 
is all right for steam fuel. 

What is the cost of preparing it? Give us information 
about machinery, &c. 

From South Carver, Mass. 

We feel the need of cheap fuel. Coal is expensive, and 
we have to cart it five to ten miles ; while, at the same time 
we have any quantity of good peat land, but at present 
almost worthless. 

Wants information. 

From Hebron, Indiana. 

We have valuable deposits of peat, and yet no one here 
ever thinks of burning it for fuel, although wood, oak and 
ash, sells from four to iive dollars per cord. We are on the 
Great Eastern Railroad, fifty-five miles from Chicago, and 
having lived in that city for nearly twenty years, and paid at 
all times twelve dollars to fourteen dollars per cord for wood, 
and fifteen dollars to twenty dollars per ton for coal, and 
twelve and a half to fifteen cents per bushel for coke, I cannot 
help feeling interested in the peat-fuel question, and shall 
agitate it. 

From Rochester, N. F. 

At the Clinton Blast Furnace, in Ontario, Wayne County, 
N. Y., peat fuel was used with the following comparative 
results : — 



29 

" At the time of commencing, the furnace was running 
about twenty-five charges to the watch, with a limited amount 
of gas in the hot blast. 

" The next watch, with one half peat, they made thirty-four 
charges, having an increased amount of gas in the hot blast 
and at the trundle head, demonstrating the fact that peat is 
equal, if not superior to the best of charcoal for the manufac- 
ture of pig iron." 

From Glens Falls, N. Y. 
The superintendent of the gas works, at Glens Falls, N. Y., 
states that he produced 5 T 8 g- cubic feet of gas to the pound 
of peat, while from the best coal used at the works, the yield 
of gas did not exceed 4^- feet to the pound. 

From Erie, Illinois. 
" I have used peat the past winter. It is the best fuel I 
ever used, and the cheapest." 

From Lansing, Michigan. 
" I am satisfied, and have for some time past claimed, that 
we must depend on our peat deposits for fuel ; and now, as 
our forests are so rapidly diminishing, and coal continues to 
increase in price, it seems to be a proper time for directing 
attention to this almost inexhaustible source of supply. 

From the Watchman and Reflector, Boston. 

We have visited the works at Lexington, and have seen 
the Leavitt mill in operation. We are highly pleased with it. 

From all we can gather upon the subject, it seems to us 
that the time is not far distant when peat fuel is to take its 
place among the staple productions of our country. At any 
rate, all attempts to facilitate the production of cheap fuel 
should be liberally encouraged. 

The subject is interesting, and cannot be easily exhausted. 

From Hamvich, Mass. 
We have in this town several hundred acres of peat bottom, 



30 

many of which produce most excellent fuel. I have inquired 
of a great many house-wives, who have been in the habit of 
burning more or less peat every year, " Which do you like 
best for fuel, — peat, coal, or wood?" The reply has invari- 
ably been, without a single exception, " peat, by all means" 

From Edgarton, Rock County, Wisconsin. 

We have large deposits of peat in this section, running 
from two to sixteen feet deep, and much of it lays along the 
lines of railroad. There is near this town nine hundred 
acres of peat marsh, and large quantities of it lying along 
Rock River. 

" Janesville and Beloit are towns of ten thousand and 
nine thousand inhabitants, and they pay thirteen dollars for 
Illinois coal, and nineteen dollars to twenty-five dollars for 
Pennsylvania coal. Wood is worth from six dollars to four- 
teen dollars per cord, and scarce the year round, and two 
large factories, and railroad shops, and machine shops to be 
supplied. 

" The railroads are paying five dollars to six dollars per 
cord for wood, and haul it twenty to one hundred miles. 

" We have railroad and water communication to Milwau- 
kie and many other larger towns, and manufactories would 
spring up if there was any motive power. Peat fuel tvould 
furnish it, and I have no doubt very large quantities could 
be sold in this section." 

From Boston. 

I have used, with much satisfaction, the peat fuel from 
Lexington, and think it superior to either wood or coal for 
domestic purposes. 

Several of my acquaintances have also used it. They 
express surprise at its good qualities, and fully agree with 
me in my estimate of its value. 

A Rochester, N. Y. paper states that an experiment was 
made on the New York Central Railroad, with peat taken 



31 

from a bed near Batavia ; engine No. 95 was used. Twenty- 
eight hundred (2800) pounds of peat were put into the ten- 
der, and the ordinary passenger train was drawn from Bata- 
via to Canandaigua and back to Batavia. 

The distance run was one hundred and two miles, only a 
little more than half of the fuel was consumed. 

The engineer thought he could have run to Canandaigua 
again, and half way back with what he had left in the 
tender. 

The result shown is that 2800 pounds will run an engine 
about 175 miles, equal to 16 pounds of fuel to a mile run, 
or 125 miles to a ton (2000 lbs.) of peat fuel, — a result, 
which, with other advantages derived from the use of peat 
instead of coal, shows it to be a vast improvement upon all 
other kinds of fuel for steam engines. 

From Denver , C. T. 

Large deposits of peat have been discovered in the region 
of the most valuable gold and silver mines in Colorado, at 
an altitude of 10,000 feet above tide level. 

It is well known, however, that extensive beds of coal 
have also been discovered in the same region, so extensive, 
and of so good quality, as to give promise of an unlimited 
supply ; and there is, therefore, less probability of the appre- 
ciation of the peat than there would otherwise have been in 
this region ; though, until the discovery of coal, it appeared 
to some to be the material for fuel, on which was to turn the 
profit or loss of working the mines of this region. 

From Wohurn, Mass. 
I have used about 35 tons of your Lexington peat, under 
my boiler. It makes steam very quickly, and I think will 
come into more general use. My fire-box is fitted for coal 
and a strong draft, but I find that the peat requires only a 
light draft. 

From Borne, N. Y. 
We have some 300 acres of peat within the limits of this 



32 

city, and it is pronounced to be a superior article for fuel. 
I have no doubt every pound, properly prepared, could find 
ready market at the iron works here, or on the N. Y. Cen- 
tral Railroad, and I have been waiting the perfection of the 
proper machinery to go into the manufacture of it. 

From Lexington, 3£ass. 

The following statement is signed by upwards of sixty of 
the citizens of Lexington and vicinity, who have used the 
fuel produced at our works, in that town, some of them 
having had it constantly for the past four or five years. 

" The undersigned, having used for domestic purposes 
peat fuel manufactured at East Lexington, Mass., recom- 
mends to the public its use, for the following reasons, viz. : 
it ignites freely, gives an intense heat, is free from any 
unpleasant odor, is easily controlled, can be increased or 
diminished at pleasure without being entirely extinguished, 
is cheaper than wood, more economical for the most part of 
the year than coal, and for kindling coal is superior to wood 
or charcoal. It will burn in an open grate, or any kind of 
stove, range, or furnace. It requires scarcely any draft, and 
leaves about five per cent, of ashes." 

From Postville, Allamakee Co., Iowa. 

I have been engaged for seveal years in working up the 
geology of the West, and for the last year in Northern Iowa. 
Have more calls for the examination of peat marshes than I 
can well attend to. 

Some have used the crude peat with great satisfaction, but 
what is needed is good cheap machinery for condensing it. 

If the farmers of Northern Iowa with whom I am ac- 
quainted, who have inexhaustible supplies of this valuable 
fuel, only had some cheap machinery with which to manu- 
facture, they would increase their wealth a hundred fold. 

We have no coal in Northern Iowa. The B. R. Co., have 
paid for wood in this town alone, during the past winter, 
over $20,000, and at this rate, with the very limited supply 



33 

of wood to be obtained, we shall soon be compelled to look 
for fuel in our rich peat beds. 

I know of scores, perhaps hundreds of farmers, who could 
make more by manufacturing and selling peat than they do 
from their farms. 

The people need information in regard to this great sub- 
ject. I have given a good deal of attention to it, and am 
preparing to lecture upon it. 

Substance of an Official Report. 

A commission specially appointed to examine and report 
upon the matter of fuel for the Grand Trunk Railroad, after 
thorough examination and repeated tests on a large scale, 
made report in detail, which was published in the Montreal 
papers ; the result of which was, that a ton of peat fuel did 
fourteen per cent, more service than a cord of best maple 
wood. 

For the peat, they paid (in gold) $3 per ton ; for the 
wood, $5 per cord. Showing a difference in favor of peat of 
fourteen per cent, in service done, and ninety per cent in cost. 

From Lexington, Mass. 

For the last two years I have been familiar with the use 
of peat fuel, manufactured in this town. 

It kindles readily, burns with a free flame, and gives an 
even and pleasant heat. 

For keeping a light fire in a grate or coal stove, for mak- 
ing a quick fire in a cooking apparatus, for securing a com- 
fortable heat in a sick room, or for warming a sleeping room, 
I know of no fuel more servicable or more easily used. 

From Medusa, N. Y. 

I want to go to manufacturing fuel as soon as we can make 
it pay. 

We are twenty-one miles west of the Hudson River, and 
within one mile of a large paper mill, and within three miles 
of two iron founderies. They use hundreds of tons of coal, 
3 



34 

for which thej pay five dollars per ton for hauling it from 
Coxsackie, in addition to the cost of the coal there, "Wood 
costs five to six dollars per cord. 

From Minnesota Lake, Minn. 

Many of the settlers here have to haul their wood from 
fifteen to thirty-five miles, and coal costs $35 to $40 per ton ; 
but we have plenty of good peat, and all that is wanting is 
to start one machine for the manufacture of it in merchanta- 
ble form, to make a demand for more. I think you could 
sell fifty machines on this prairie. We are determined to 
have peat in general use here without much delay. 

From St. Albans, Vt. 

The Vermont Central R. R. Co. have experimented with 
about 100 tons, with very satisfactory results. 

One engine with three tons of peat drew eight passenger 
cars 120 miles, and seven cars 140 miles. 

Another engine with three tons of peat drew four cars, 
first trial, 95 miles ; second trip, 120 miles ; third trip, 120 
miles ; fourth trip, 160 miles ; fifth trip, 168 miles ; sixth 
trip, 170 miles. 

I am satisfied that as soon as they can procure a consider- 
able supply at about the cost of wood, say a ton of peat at 
about the cost of a cord of wood, they would gladly buy 
20,000 tons per year. 

When it can be manufactured at a cost not exceeding two 
dollars per ton, I want to engage in it on a considerable 
scale. 

From Providence, B. I. 

N. F. Totter, President of the Narraganset Brick Com- 
pauy, the largest in Rhode Island, states that he has prepared 
hundreds of tous of this fuel, for several years past, at a 
cost not exceeding $1.50 per ton, and has used it with great 
success for various purposes, principally for steam service 
and for burning brick. 



35 

His experience corroborates the statements of multitudes 
of others, that a ton of peat is fully equal to a cord of wood. 

He has burned a great many brick with it, and uses for a 
kiln just the same number of tons of peat that he has been 
accustomed to use cords of wood, and with full as satisfactory 
results. His wood cost $7.00 per cord, his peat cost $1.50 
per ton. 

His testimony is unqualified, both as regards the cost of 
manufacture and the value of the fuel. 

From Ogdensburg, N. Y. 

There are a number of good peat beds near our city, but 
they have not been worked much as yet. 

I got out a few tons last year, and it gave perfect satisfac- 
tion as a fuel, but it costs too high without machinery. 

Coal costs us $11.00, hard wood $7.50. 

From MaukatO) Minn. 

The Novelty Works at this place have used a little peat 
in their foundery, and prove it superior to coal for their pur- 
poses. 

They pay $20 to $25 per ton for coal. 

From South Bend, Ind. 

We have peat beds here that can never be exhausted. The 
Catholics of Notre Dame University have been making and 
using two or three thousand tons of it per year for the last 
three years. This year they have commenced to make about 
5000 tons. They use it for heating their buildings. Part 
of it is cut out with a slane, and part is mixed and made by 
han<J somewhat like brick. When first moulded the blocks 
are 10x5x4 inches, weighing about seven pounds; but 
when thoroughly dry they are about 6 X 3 J and 1J inches, 
weighing about lflbs., and as hard as coal. 

I first made the experiment on ten or fifteen tons, and 
they have followed it ; but this method is too slow and 
expensive. 



36 

The fuel is good and at $5 per ton, which is equal to a 
cord of wood or three quarters of a ton of coal, is a quar- 
ter cheaper than either of the other kinds of fuel. 

The people here are waiting for suitable machinery for its 
manufacture, and when such is found, it will be readily 
adopted, and gladly too, for something to take the place of 
present fuel is sadly needed here. 

The railroads are prepared to contract for many thousands 
of tons of it, and if you have a sure success in its manufac- 
ture there can be no better place than this to demonstrate 
the fact. 

From Westfield, N. Y. 

I feel a deep interest in the subject of cheap fuel, and 
especially in the adoption of peat to that end. We have large 
deposits of it here, shown by analysis to be very pure, free 
from sulphur, and yielding only from three to five per cent, 
of ash. 

The railroads in this section suffer greatly from the use 
of sulphurous bituminous coal, and I have no doubt they 
would hail with joy the advent of a cheap fuel which would 
save their fire surfaces from disintegration. 

From Flizahethtown, N. J. 
There is a great deal of peat in this region, and if it can 
be produced so as to be of material advantage to the iron 
manufacturers of Essex County, it may be immensely impor- 
tant. We hope your efforts may be successful. 

From Florence, Benton Go,, Ioiva. 

I started, last year, on a small scale, but intend to go in a 
little stronger this year. I work it in a box with one-horse 
tread power, right in the bog. 

I expect to prepare with one horse, two men and a boy, 
about three or lour tons of dry peat per day. Do not think 
my way as profitable as yours, but am not able to buy your 
machinery, and have to be contented with such as I can 
afford. 



37 

The peat dries very hard, and burns with a bright, hot 
flame. 

Wood has been $5 to $7, and getting scarce, and coals 
from $8.50 to $15. All we need out here is a good machine 
that does not cost too much. 

It is rather hard for farmers to sell wheat for forty-five 
cents and corn for thirty cents, and haul it ten or fifteen 
miles to market at that, and then pay $9 and $10 per ton for 
such poor coal as we have here in Iowa. 

From Portland, Me. 
We have the most valuable peat bog on the continent, 
and in my opinion if the kind of fuel it produces was put in 
the market, it would supersede all the coal and coke now 
in use for steam engines and smelting purposes. We want 
machines to manufacture it. 



These extracts from letters are but a few out of many of 
similar character, and are given here simply to show the 
general tone of recent correspondence among practical men 
in all parts of the country. 

FAILURES, DISAPPOINTMENTS, AND LACK OF SUCCESS. 

It is probably a fact, that thus far, both in this country 
and in Europe, more money has been expended in peat than 
has been realized from it. 

But it is doubtless equally true, that the great losses have 
been made by those who squandered their money recklessly, 
or went into the matter as a speculation, rather than by those 
who have undertaken the manufacture of the fuel as a legit- 
imate business, to be managed prudently and conducted intel- 
ligently, as any business must be, and with the proper means 
and appliances to secure the results desired. 

A discriminating view of the matter, in this light, will 
doubtless solve the question, and indicate the correct answer 



38 

to many who have made the inquiry as to why one and 
another have lost money. 

A multitude of cases have come to our knowledge where 
parties had put their money into some great " peat company " 
expecting to realize, without effort, returns of untold amount, 
but knowing really little or nothing of the material from 
which their gains were to come, giving the business little or 
no personal attention, and intrusting the management of it 
to others who knew as little as they, and, in reality, (ten- 
derly be it spoken !) cared less, except to line their own 
pockets from the sale of u shares," as speedily as possible, 
and then " step out" before the bubble should burst. * 

Reliable information concerniug the manufacture of this 
fuel is available, and can now be obtained as easily as upon 
any other subject, and with the proper means and appliances, 
which are easily procured, and the same ordinary, prudent, 
and intelligent management which any other business de- 
mands, this surely invites attention, and gives unquestionable 
promise of reward, far in excess of most kinds of manufac- 
turing. 

In numerous cases allusion is made to efforts which have 
been made in one way and another to manufacture the ma- 
terial, oftentimes by methods entirely impracticable, and in 
many cases quite ridiculous, as a moment's consideration 
would seem to have shown any reasonable being ; while 
others, in almost equal number, after having produced a fair 
article (considering that it was, perhaps, their first attempt), 
instead of making use of it, or testing it, in such simple man- 
ner as reason would dictate to a sober-minded person who 
should give a single thought as to the character and proper- 
ties of the material, have gone to work in some equally 
ridiculous manner to u test" it, and have either smothered 
their lire by putting on an excessive quantity of the fuel (for 

* In a letter received since the above was written, allusion is 
made to one of these cases, in the following significant words : " The 
matter was placed in the hands of incompetent persons, and the re- 
sult was that peat got sadly demoralized." 



39 

it should be burned in small quantities), or have allowed so 
strong a draught (it should be burned under light draught,) 
as to create the " hottest kind of a fire," and to consume it 
with unnecessary haste, giving occasion, in either case, to 
pronounce it impracticable to use the fuel to advantage. 

And just there, in many cases, the whole matter has been 
dropped ; and this too, not unfrequently in localities where 
coal and wood are high, and peat might be had, in good 
shape, at one quarter the price paid for other fuels, if but a 
trifle more of reason and perseverance were brought to bear 
in the case. 

A WORD OF CAUTION AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 

Pioneers in the peat business in any section of the coun- 
try, though they may reasonably expect to share, to some 
extent, the difficulties of inaugurating a new enterprise, will, 
with ordinary good management, prudence, and perseverance, 
be pretty sure to hold the field, and realize large and legiti-* 
mate reward. 

Most of the new enterprises of the age, especially in 
mining operations, are understood to demand for their de- 
velopment and success, very large preliminary outlays of 
money. 

Not so with peat : the outlay required is small, while 
the returns are quick, large, and sure; for " everybody'' is 
a ready customer for good " cheap fuel," and such peat has 
been abundantly proved to be. 

COUNT THE COST AND THE GAIN. 

Unlike an oil well or a gold mine, peat is on the surface of 
the earth, where it can be seen and examined, the quality 
tested, and the quantity fairly calculated. The expense of 
excavating and manufacturing can be readily and accurately 
ascertained, and the net profits on the sales of fuel can be 
fairly estimated ; in fact, the business of manufacturing peat 
fuel can be entered into as prudently and under standingly, 



40 

and on as fair an estimate of expenditure and return, as any- 
other. 

IMPORTANCE OF THE PEAT FUEL ENTERPRISE. 

The following from the New York Tribune is to the 
point : — 

" The results of numerous experiments, both practical and 
scientific, have already proved that American peat, however 
rudely prepared, will answer all the requirements of a per- 
fect fuel, more economical than wood or coal. 

" When solidified, it is equal in value to any other fuel for 
almost any purpose. 

" Its composition is closely allied to wood and coal, con- 
taining carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, with less 
waste in burning than the best of coal. 

u The political power of any country depends upon the de- 
velopment of home manufactures. These, as well as the 
comfort, health, and high civilization of the people, depend 
upon an abundant supply of cheap, good fuel, widely diffused 
over the face of the country. 

" Since we have destroyed our forests, no other source of 
supply fills the measure of this requisite so completely as 
peat ; and its abundance in this country, where steam is the 
great motive power, not only for manufacturing, but locomo- 
tion, is destined to be the great source of comfort and 
wealth. 

" Everything, therefore, which tends to increase the knowl- 
edge of the existence and use of peat, as well as the treat- 
ment for improving its quality and heat-producing eificiency, 
should be ranked as great national blessings. 

u The purposes to which peat fuel can be applied are as 
wide as those of wood or coal. For domestic purposes it is 
superior to either, except that the peat requires replenishing 
oftener than a coal lire, and less so than that of wood. It 
burns in open grates like cauncl coal. Its great advantage 
as a locomotive fuel is, that it burns with great freedom, 
gives intense heat, and throws off no cinders. 



41 

" Valuable as this fuel is, and situated as it is at our doors, 
we believe it can be excavated, dried, and made ready for 
use with less ]abor and capital than coal can be mined in 
Pennsylvania ; and peat deposits are so diversified, that the 
cost of transporting the fuel to the place of consumption 
would be no more than the cost of transporting wood. 

" Another of the great benefits which we anticipate from 
the use of peat is the saving from further destruction of the 
timbered land of all the older States, as well as the prairie 
regions of the West. 

" The truly philanthropic minds of the present generation 
should be at once awakened to the introduction of peat fuel, 
as likely to produce one of the greatest blessings they could 
bestow upon the poor. 

" The subject is even worthy the attention of every legisla- 
ture, to encourage the development of peat, its manufacture 
and use, as one of the best methods of preserving the tim- 
bered lands, which add so much to the beauty, health, and 
wealth of any country, where duly proportioned with the 
lands under tillage." 

COMPARATIVE VALUE OF PEAT FUEL. 

Our own experience during a series of years, and the con- 
current testimony of intelligent parties, who have used it in 
various ways, and under a great variety of circumstances, 
warrant the following general statement, to wit : 

As to value for use, in comparison with other fuels, a ton 
of it, of ordinary quality, is fully equal to a cord of the 
best oak or maple wood, sawed, split, and ready for use, or 
about three quarters the value of coal, and for some purpo- 
ses fully equal to coal. 

ECONOMY OF PEAT. 

Peat is used in three conditions. 

First. In its natural state, as taken from the bed and 
dried in the open air, more or less pure ; some almost free 



42 

from undecomposed matter ; some containing roots and fibres 
of plants. 

Second. Manufactured and condensed, so that it has 
almost the density of coal. 

Third. Condensed and carbonized, or converted into 
charcoal. 

In all of these conditions it is an excellent fuel. 

It is not our purpose to speak of it in its native state, al- 
though in this state it possesses heating power exceeding 
that of wood, and little less than that of coal. But when 
properly manufactured and condensed, it is much more dura- 
ble, and its heating powers and general value for fuel purpo- 
ses are largely increased. 

When charred it equals coal, and is more valuable than 
wood charcoal. 

It never clinkers ; does not, like coke and coal, attack the 
linings of furnaces, or destroy the bars of grates, or the sur- 
faces of boilers ; and in the treatment of iron ores, in blast 
furnaces, it gives to cast and wrought iron, which they pro- 
duce, a superior quality, which cannot be obtained even with 
the best wood charcoal. , 

These facts are repeatedly proved by scientific and practical 
experiments made by competent parties in France, England, 
Germany, and America. 

PEAT AND COAL. — THE DIFFERENCE. 

A good peat will generally be found to leave, after com- 
bustion, an amount of ash, equal to from three to eight per 
cent, of its dry weight, and no clinker. 

It is generally conceded that anthracite coal, as ordinarily 
burned, leaves ash and clinker to the cxteut of full twenty- 
live per cent, of its original weight. 

A gentleman who has made numerous experiments for his 
own satisfaction, informs us that from one hundred pounds 
of peat burned, lie obtained six pounds of ash, while from 
one hundred pounds " best anthracite coal," burned in the 



43 

same stove, there remained twenty-seven pounds of ash and 
clinker. He says the peat is far preferable to coal, and 
makes a better fire. 

PEAT FUEL IMPROVES BY AGE. 

The quality of peat fuel, like wood, is improved by age ; 
that is, the fuel, although stored very soon after it is manu- 
factured, and considered dry and in excellent condition for 
use, as it really is, will be found to have improved very 
much, if properly housed, and allowed to remain and cure 
for three, six, or even twelve months, — the difference in 
quality being as readily observed as in wood under the same 
circumstances. 

SPECIFIC GRAVITY AND WEIGHT OF PEAT. 

As to the specific gravity of condensed peat, we have often 
heard it said that u peat is equal to the best hard wood." 
Now we know that the best and hardest woods will float 
upon water, while it is a fact that ordinary peats, worked 
by our machinery, produce a fuel which sinks in water, show- 
ing its specific gravity to be greater than the best of woods. 

By our process, we are able to produce fuel varying from 
65 to 80 pounds per cubic foot, according to the character of 
the crude material ; which is equal to from 4 to 5 tons to 
the solid cord, or 2^- to 3 J tons in its broken condition, as 
shovelled up and loaded when dry. 

In estimating the weight of dry peat fuel per cubic foot, 
bushel, or otherwise, it should be understood that the chinks 
in peat and in wood, as commonly heaped or piled, probably 
amount to not far from 30 per cent, of the measured bulk. 

Peat fuel properly manufactured will measure about 35 to 
38 bushels to the ton of 2000 pounds. 

INTENSITY OF HEAT GENERATED BY PEAT. 
It is an acknowledged fact that peat produces intense heat, 



44 

— a feature of so much importance as to entitle it to promi- 
nent mention and careful consideration. 

Its virtue in this respect is much increased when properly 
prepared, solidified, and dried, and it reaches its maximum 
of heating power when solidified and charred, or coked. 

Mention has often been made of its peculiar qualities in 
this respect ; and any person who will but once make a fire 
of it, will find a practical demonstration of it, which can 
neither be disputed or denied. 

The amount of heat produced by fuels in their combustion 
does not always constitute their relative value. For some 
purposes, it is apparent that this would be the best criterion ; 
but, as a rule, in metallurgic processes, the quantity of heat 
is of far less importance than the intensity, cm power to raise 
substances to the highest temperature ; and the fuel which 
affords the greatest quantity of heat is sometimes incapable 
of producing the greatest intensity. 

The intense heat generated by peat fuel is a subject of 
frequent remark, and will eventually be dwelt upon, we 
think, as a very important consideration in estimating its 
value. 

PEAT FUEL FOE STEAM SERVICE. 

It is claimed that for ordinary steam service, peat fuel, 
when properly condensed, is superior to wood or coal. 

It is proved, not by experiments alone, but by constant 
and long-continued use, in numerous places, and under a 
great variety of circumstances, to be admirably adapted for 
steam-engines, marine, stationary, and locomotive. 

We have used it ourselves, under a stationary boiler, for 
four seasons, with the most gratifying results. 

It saves half the time of getting up steam, and will raise 
steam to a higher pressure., and keep it higher, than can be 
done with coal. 

The absence of smoke and clinkers, and the preservation 
of the grates and fire-boxes from the effects of sulphur, are 
important additional advantages. 



45 

A concern in Boston having occasion for superheated steam 
in large volume, and which they were able to produce to 
the required extent only by the use of two furnaces and the 
very best of coal under strong blast, made trial of peat fuel, 
with the following results, as reported to us by them : — 

" The peat fuel proved to be entirely satisfactory. Steam 
was not only generated, but superheated to the full extent 
and temperature required ; and it was satisfactorily demon- 
strated that with this fuel the whole service demanded might 
be had from one furnace instead of two, — an item of no 
light importance." 

The fuel was from our works at Lexington. 

In Europe, as is well known, it has been used for many 
years, and to a great extent, although they are far behind us 
in the matter of preparing it perfectly for use. 

A correspondent, who has recently been through Germany, 
writes, " Peat is universally used here as fuel on all rail- 
roads, and in nearly all manufacturing establishments, and 
for cooking and warming." 

A writer in an English paper says, " The practicability of 
using peat for the purpose of fuel on board steamers is indu- 
bitable. I have employed peat as the only fuel for steam 
during the last four years, and have found it to answer boil- 
ers admirably." 

Some of its advantages are plainly discernible, and may, 
perhaps, be briefly stated, as follows : — 

It ignites readily and burns freely, generally with a large 
volume of flame. Combustion appears to be almost perfect, 
with a very clear and intense heat, producing no cinders, 
no sparks, no soot, very little smoke, and no clinker ; the 
consequence of which is, that under a boiler steam is gener- 
ated very much more quickly than by coal, the flues and 
tubes of the boiler are free from soot, clean and bright, and 
therefore in better condition to make the heat available, and 
the grate bars are not burned out and injured as with coal ; 
while as relates to railway service, on the score of comfort 
to travellers, it may be said that the annoyance and actual 



46 

suffering occasioned by cinders, sparKS, and smoke, which, 
in spite of the numerous devices for consuming them, we are 
now constantly subjected, are, by the use of this fuel, entirely 
obviated ; and so clearly are these advantages demonstrated, 
that we are satisfied that wherever this fuel is fairly tried, 
it cannot fail to meet with increasing favor according to its 
merits. 

PEAT FOR LOCOMOTIVES AND HOW TO USE IT. 

As relates to the use of peat for locomotives, which is the 
hardest service to which it can be put, Mr. Hodges, who 
has conducted experiments on a very extensive scale on the 
Grand Trunk Railroad, where this fuel has now been in con- 
stant use for four years, has offered some remarks, which 
correspond so nearly with our own observations, and general 
statements made to us by others who have investigated the 
matter, and are, withal, so clearly expressed, that we quote. 

u Peat fuel, even with the limited experiments as to the 
best mode of using it economically, has proved itself equal, 
if not superior, to any known fuel, and it is no more than 
reasonable to anticipate greater results when its use becomes 
general, and furnaces are expressly adapted to its use. 

" As locomotives are now constructed for the combustion 
of wood, coal, or coke, the waste of steam power to create 
a blast or draught is enormous, it being estimated by compe- 
tent authority that two fifths of the whole quantity of fuel 
consumed is expended for that purpose. Now, well-dried 
peat requires but very little draught through the furnace bars, 
it being necessary for a perfect combustion of the immense 
quantity of gas that it gives out to admit air through the 
furnace door. It is therefore much more than probable that, 
by altering the blast to meet the limited requirements of peat 
fuel, at least twenty per cent, additional power will be given 
to all peat-burning engines, or corresponding decrease in the 
quantity of fcel used may be effected. 

" No sparks issue from the smoke-stack of a locomotive 
when burning peat fuel, even with the present enormous 



47 

blast ; and when they are especially adapted for it, fires 
from sparks will be unknown. 

" Peat fuel, containing from twenty-five to thirty-five per 
cent, of water may be burned in a locomotive with a blast 
and arrangement of fire-box, precisely the same as for wood, 
aud used in the same way, with this difference only, that 
with wood, the fire-box is always kept full to the top, while 
with damp peat, not more than six inches covering of the 
grate is necessary. In ascending long inclines, or with 
an overloaded engine, it may be necessary, perhaps, to in- 
crease the quantity to nine inches ; but under no circumstan- 
ces has the writer ever seen a twelve-inch covering to the fire- 
bars requisite. 

" When it is considered that in burning a ton of green 
peat, containing only fifteen per cent, of moisture in excess of 
ordinary air-dried peat, thirty-three gallons of water have to 
be dried out of it or evaporated during the combustion, and, 
in addition, that the weight of eolid matter in the ton of fuel 
is reduced fifteen per cent, by the water it contains, the dif- 
ference of work performed by dry peat over that of wet is not 
so great as might be expected. This, however, may be 
accounted for by the little experience we have hitherto had 
with the fuel, and also from the fact that locomotives have 
not been adapted to its use. 

" The amount of blast required for green peat is not so 
great as that required for wood ; but it burns well ( in a fur- 
nace arranged for consuming wood. 

" For dry peat very little blast is required ; and when 
burning in engines adapted for wood, the fuel has to be 
applied in such small quantities, that it is scarcely possible 
to keep the fire-bars covered without raising more steam than 
is required." 

A foreign correspondent writes, " For all the locomotives 
of the railroads in South Bavaria, peat is the only fuel." 

We have seen a statement of a locomotive running up- 
wards of three months, over seventy miles of road, and using 
peat, wherein is shown a saving of more than thirty per cent, by 



48 

weight over coal, using coal furnaces and flues, with dampers 
down and fire doors open all the time. 

PEAT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND THE 
WORKING OF METALS. 

Although in certain parts of Europe peat fuel has for 
many years been successfully and extensively used in the 
smelting, reheating, and working of iron and other metals, it 
does not seem to be generally understood in this country that 
it is valuable or even available for these purposes. 

But that it is easily available and exceedingly valuable, 
are facts demonstrated and established beyond dispute. 

Properly prepared, peat may be used economically and 
profitably, and tends to the production of superior qualities 
of iron and steel. 

A few facts and opinions, very briefly stated, are all we 
propose to give here ; while for further information the 
reader is referred to a lengthy article in the book entitled 
'• Facts about Peat," where the subject is treated of much 
more thoroughly and in detail. 

In our own country peat fuel has not been used for these 
purposes to any great extent. 

Numerous experiments with it have been made, with 
uniformly satisfactory results ; and there are establishments 
which have used it for mouths together 1 , in smelting, &c, 
and would gladly have continued to use it had they been 
able to procure the necessary supply. 

One smelting concern in New York State, who used for 
several weeks three quarters peat and one quarter charcoal, 
writes, — 

" The results gave the fullest satisfaction, as our heat 
increased very perceptibly, and the amount of limestone for 
flux was much lessened in consequence, and we could there- 
fore make the iron much faster, and at a saviug of full 
twenty-live per cent, less cost, than with either charcoal or 
anthracite ; and the quality of the iron is pronounced by the 



49 

proprietors of some of the largest founderies in this sec- 
tion, equal if not superior to any that they ever saw ; so 
that I feel myself warranted in saying that good peat, prop- 
erly prepared, will smelt iron ore equal to any fuel now 
known." 

Another, in the same state, have used it so much, and 
tested it so thoroughly for smelting purposes, that they are 
not only ready, but anxious to dispense with charcoal and 
use peat instead, just so soon as they can be assured of a 
sufficient and constant supply. 

They require about twenty-five tons per day. 

Several other furnaces in the same region, we are assured, 
are ready to do the same thing. 

Peat from our own works at Lexington, has been used for 
melting and refining ordinary pig iron, producing an article 
of malleable iron which, when cold, could be bent and twisted 
in all manner of shapes, exhibiting an astonishing degree of 
toughness and flexibility. 

We have seen wrought iron produced from the ore by 
peat, in Canada, said to be of the very highest quality and 
equal to the best Swedish iron ; have seen it bent when cold, 
and doubled up without a crack or flaw, the edges remaining 
smooth and sharp, and are told that no iron manufactured 
from coal would stand such a test. 

Another concern in Canada certify that the strength of 
peat charcoal iron tested by them in the ordinary manner, 
is considerably above the average strength of iron of the 
best brands. 

In the Lake Superior iron regions, where wood for char- 
coal is becoming scarce, and abundance of peat is found, 
preparations are being made to manufacture and use it for 
smelting purposes. 

Mr. Sanderson, of the well known cutlery establishment at 
Sheffield, Eng., writes, — 

" All iron metallurgists have agreed in one opinion, that 
if peat, by any means, could be produced of sufficient den- 
sity to enable it, when charred, to stand the blast necessary 
4 



50 

for the production of iron, the iron so produced would be of 
a very superior quality, and when manufactured into malle- 
able iron, it will be appreciated for cables, boiler-plates, 
armor-plates, wire, and all other kinds of iron requiring 
more than ordinary strength. " 

Another English writer asserts, that " peat-coke is of 
greater value than the best charcoal, and that in the manu- 
facture of iron it stands unrivalled as a fuel" 

Still another writer, of much note, says, — 

" In Germany, peat mixed with wood charcoal is very 
extensively used in the production of iron, the peat as 
prepared there not being sufficiently solid to do the work 
alone ; but it is found that the greater the proportion of 
peat that can be used, the better is the quality of the iron 
produced. 

" The gas delivered from the high furnaces where peat is 
used, has also been satisfactorily employed in the refining 
of iron and the puddling of steel. 

"The value of peat in the production of iron has long 
been established. 

" Iron metallurgists agree that the metal so produced is 
of very superior quality. 

" In every stage of iron manufacture and in welding, 
peat charcoal is most valuable." 

Professor Johnson, of New Haven, in his valuable essay, 
entitled, " Peat and its Uses," remarks, " Peat is extensively 
used in puddling furnaces, especially in the so-called gas 
puddling furnaces in Corinthia, Steyermack, Silesia, Bavaria, 
Wirkenberg, Sweden, and other parts of Europe. 

" In Steyermack it has been thus employed for twenty- 
five years." 

We have seen repeated mention made of its use in Ger- 
many for the refining of iron and the puddling of steel. So 
also in France and Italy peat has been successfully used 
for similar purposes. 

The many practical tests and proofs of the value of peat, 
for the purposes under consideration, surely cannot, if gen- 



51 

erally known, remain long unheeded or unimproved by the 
enterprising iron manufacturers of our own country. 

Almost at the moment of writing the above, we are in 
receipt of a letter from Portland, Me., from which we make 
the following extract, which appears especially significant 
as bearing upon the iron interest, of which we have just 
been writing : — 

" I am interested in a large peat property in the vicinity 
of this city, and want machinery adapted for its manufacture 
into fuel. 

64 Peat fuel has been used here just enough to demonstrate 
its great value, and now all that is required is to produce 
it in quantities sufficient to meet a larger demand. 

" Several of our largest founderies in this and other states 
are and have been anxiously waiting the completion of such 
machinery as will give reasonable assurance of a constant 
and steady supply equal to the requirements of their busi- 
ness. 

u As its good qualities become more generally known the 
demand for it must inevitably be very large." 

PEAT FUEL FOR DOMESTIC PURPOSES. 

For a summer fuel, for domestic use, there can be little 
doubt that peat is to be the favorite. 

A ton of it is in bulk about one quarter more than coal, 
and possesses in this respect a decided advantage for summer 
service, which will be evident to any one who uses it. 

A little fire for a cool morning, or evening, can be started 
even more easily than with wood, and, with a very small 
quantity of the fuel, will yield a quick and cheerful heat. 

With a few blocks only, the fire necessary for breakfast, 
dinner, or tea can be started, and in good condition for use, 
in five minutes, and no more need be burned than is required 
for the special purpose of the hour ; avoiding thereby, not 
only the absolute waste of a very considerable amount of 
fuel, which, when coal is used, is necessary to keep up the 



52 

fire from one meal to another during the day, but the great 
discomfort of having any fire in the house during the hot 
days of summer. 

If covered with ashes, it will keep for a long time, and 
can be rekindled at pleasure. 

The additional bulk obtained in a ton of this fuel, and the 
small quantity which is required to be used for the service 
mentioned above, render it, aside from all other advantages, 
an economical fuel for domestic use in the summer season. 

From our own experience, we are well satisfied that those 
who use it next summer will find good reason for using it 
the following winter. 

PEAT FUEL FOR COOKING. 

For ranges and cooking stoves, the fire boxes should be 
considerably smaller than for coal, as it requires a much less 
quantity of peat than of coal to make a good fire, though it 
must be renewed somewhat oftener. 

It is easily kindled with a little paper or a few shavings, 
burns freely, and gives a quick and intense heat. For bak- 
ing, boiling, and broiling it is excellent, and for heating irons 
on ironing day there is no fuel equal to it.. 

It is cleaner than coal, pleasanter to handle, and easily 
managed for all purposes of cooking. 

PEAT FUEL FOR INVALIDS. 

It is an established fact, that for the sick chamber there is 
no fuel which yields so mild and grateful heat as peat. For 
consumptives, and persons with delicate lungs, it is especially 
desirable, as it produces none of the painful effects of wood 
smoke or coal gas. If burned in a soapstone stove, it will 
afford the maximum of comfort to the most sensitive in- 
valid. 

There is a traditional opinion among the Irish people that 
those who use peat fires are less liable to consumption or 



53 

lung difficulties than others, and among the early records of 
this fuel which have come to our notice, we find in the writ- 
ings of an Irish doctor, as early as 1685, the following : — 

" Turf (peat) charred, I reckon the sweetest and whole- 
somest fire that can be ; fitter for a chamber and for con- 
sumptive people than either wood, stone coal, or charcoal." 

Within the circle of our own acquaintance are those who 
have borne repeated testimony, not only to the mild and 
soothing effects of this fuel, but to the absolute relief af- 
forded, in cases, of consumption. 

APPLIANCES FOR BURNING PEAT FUEL. 

It is a matter of no slight importance to ascertain and 
introduce the best stoves, furnaces, grates, ranges, &c, for 
burning peat. 

Thus far little has been done in this line, though a few 
enterprising stove dealers have already turned their attention 
to it, with good prospect of success ; and their advertise- 
ments are beginning to announce " Peat Stoves," &e. 

The appliances required are simple, and there will be little 
difficulty in producing what is needed, or in altering and 
adapting, by very simple changes, many of the favorite styles 
now in use for coal. 

It should be borne in mind, however, that it is not in the 
matter of stoves and appliances for domestic purposes alone 
that these improvements are called for, but in fire-boxes for 
locomotives, furnaces under boilers, aud wherever fires are 
to be used in the arts, manufactures, &c. ; and it is clearly 
to be seen that this opens a wide field for experiment and 
invention among boiler and engine builders. 

HOW TO USE PEAT FUEL. 

For steam service, under stationary boilers, it can be used 
in most any of the ordinary fire-boxes arranged with grate 
for burning coal ; but the area or fire-surface should be much 



54 

reduced, the quantity of fuel (in bulk), in the fire-box, 
should not be more than half the quantity of coal (in bulk), 
ordinarily used, though it requires to be renewed somewhat 
more frequently. 

The draft through the grate should be much less than for 
coal, and the door of the fire-box should in many cases be 
open a little, in order to admit air on to the fire surface, 
the amount of gas evolved from the fuel generally being so 
great as to require a large amount of oxygen to promote 
or admit of the perfect combustion of it, producing, by this 
means, an unusual volume of flame, the delight of all engi- 
neers. 

For locomotive service, suggestions have already been 
given on page 46. 

For foundery purposes, and the working of metals gener- 
ally, the ordinary arrangements for burning Cumberland 
coal are, in the main, applicable to peat. 

A little experience, with some attention to the matter of 
strength of draft and the supply of air, will discover to any 
one, the simple peculiarities necessary to observe under vari- 
ous circumstances. 

For domestic purposes, it can be used in furnace, range, 
open grate, and most of the ordinary kinds of stoves in use, 
either for heating or cooking. 

It should generally be burned in smaller quantities and 
with less draft than coal, but renewed somewhat more fre- 
quently. 

For furnaces, the remarks before made in regard to its 
use under stationary boilers, are generally applicable. 

For ranges and open fires, the grates should be of loss 
capacity than those generally used, and the draft should be 
lighter than for coal. 

For most stoves, arranged with a grate of any kind, on 
which to place the fuel, it may be used much like coal, ob- 
serving the same directions repeated above in regard to 
quantity, draft, ecc. 

For burning bricks, the common style of arches may be 



55 

used, but a grating of some kind should be inserted a few 
inches from the bottom, in order to allow free circulation 
under the fire, and to permit the ashes to fall through. 

Lime is burned in any ordinary kiln, the layers of fuel 
and stone being alternated. 



USE PEAT UNDEESTANDINGLY. 

It is an acknowledged fact that very few people have a cor- 
rect idea of the economical use of fuel of any kind. 

Everybody is supposed to know how to burn wood, but 
very few burn it economically, or even prudently. The 
waste is immense. 

So, also, of coal. It was a long time after hard coal was 
introduced, before the community became even tolerably fa- 
miliar with its use ; but at the present time it is otherwise. 
With plenty of kindling wood, an abundant supply of coal, 
a clear grate, and a strong draft, a good fire is started and 
kept up, " regardless of expense ; " but for a moderate fire on 
a mild day, or for light service, few are skilful enough to 
kindle or maintain it. 

Such being the case in regard to 'wood and coal, is it reason- 
able to expect that any one, at the present time, is thoroughly 
posted as to the best and most economical methods of using 
peat? 

Our own experience has taught us, and the universal testi- 
mony of those who use it is to the same effect, that, as a 
general thing, peat fuel should be burned in smaller area and 
bulk than coal, but renewed in small quantities, and under 
very much less draft. 

The quantity of kindling-wood required is very small. The 
heat is clear and intense. 

It ignites quickly, burns freely, and gives an intense heat, 
almost from the moment it is kindled. It is therefore rea- 
sonable to suppose that it should be managed somewhat differ- 
ently from coal or wood. 

It will be of little use for any one to anticipate fair or satis- 



56 

factory results as to the value of peat for fuel, if burned in 
the large fire-boxes now generally in use for coal and wood. 

It should be burned in smaller area, with less draft, and re- 
newed somewhat more frequently. We know of trials which 
have failed to give satisfatory results, from no other cause than 
lack of attention to these simple but important instructions. 

The fire-box under a steam boiler, where peat is used as 
fuel, should be much smaller than is ordinarily required for 
coal, and the quantity of fuel on the grates should be less in 
bulk than of coal. 

We have been running, for four seasons, a tubular boiler, 
of fourteen horse capacity, the fire-box under which was 
originally 32 X 42 inches, with grate bars f of an inch apart, 
and 18 inches below the boiler, fitted for coal. We have 
burned nothing but peat, and, finding that the heat generated 
was far in excess of what was required, have gradually 
reduced the area of the grates by laying fire-brick at the 
sides and end, until now it is only 16x36 inches — less than 
half the original area. 

The fire is never more than six inches deep on the grates, 
the heat is ample, and the quantity of gas generated produces 
an amount of flame which fills the entire space under the 
boiler, showing that, if a larger quantity of fuel w T as used, it 
would probably generate an amount of gas in excess of what 
could be consumed under the boiler, and must therefore be 
wasted. It is burned with very light draft, and gives a 
quick and intense heat. The grate bars at the end of the 
fourth year are entirely uninjured, and as good as new. 

The same general principles apply to locomotive service. 
The fire-box should be smaller, and the exhaust considerably 
less powerful. 

It should be borne in mind that peats differ in quality and 
characteristics, aud, consequently, in their heating properties 
and value, full as much as wood aud coal in all their varie- 
ties ; and that the results obtained from peat fuel, as from 
any other, will, in all eases, depend very much upon the 
manner in which it is burned. 



57 

We are told that a certain service is obtained from a 
boiler with one cord of wood, or one ton of coal ; but, unless 
we know whether the wood be pine or hickory, or the coal 
Pictou or Lehigh, we have no certain data from which to 
make accurate or even approximate calculations — so, also of 
peat ; it is necessary to know something of its characteristics 
in each case reported, in order to form a correct estimate of 
its relative value for the service done. The terms by which 
to designate these characteristics and qualities, so as to be 
generally understood and adopted, have yet to be determined 
upon ; but the necessities of the case will doubtless bring 
them out in good time. 

That peat is a good fuel, is universally conceded, which 
is much more than was even admitted for coal, when that 
was first introduced. The important* questions now are as 
to the arrangement of furnaces, grates, drafts, &c, and the 
manner of using the fuel to the best advantage, — in other 
words, " the people " have to learn how to use it, but the 
task is an easy one. 

Its real value can be ascertained only by using it properly. 

It can be wasted or burned to disadvantage as easily as 
coal, but it can be used economically, managed and burned 
to good advantage much more easily than coal. 

GAS FROM PEAT. 

Gas of an excellent quality, for illuminating purposes, and 
in large quantities, can be produced from some kinds of 
peat ; and in the ordinary progress of events, it is undoubt- 
edly destined to be extensively used for this purpose, and that 
at no distant day. 

This opinion is freely expressed by those who have given 
most attention to the subject, and the reasons stated are, the 
quality and quantity of the gas produced, and the low cost 
of the material, when compared with the coals at present 
most in use. 

Numerous reports have been published from time to time, 
but a single statement will suffice to illustrate here. 



58 

A gas company, who have recently had a quantity of peat 
from our works at Lexington, used it with the same amount 
of cannel coal, i. e., half coal and half peat, aud the certificate 
of their chemist shows a product of illuminating gas of 12 
candles power, of 14,376 cubic feet to the ton. 

The quantity of illuminating gas ordinarily obtained from 
the coal mostly used for that purpose in this country, is under- 
stood to be from 4000 to 5000 cubic feet, and rarely exceeds 
7000 to 8000 cubic feet per ton. 

For making and refining iron, the gas produced from peat 
has been extensively used in France, Germany, and Sweden. 

In many places it is used for both these purposes, and its 
consumption is steadily increasing. 

It is distinctly claimed for the Siemens Regenerative Gas 
Furnace, that it is especially adapted for the successful and 
economical treatment of metals and glass by the use of peat 
fuel, — a statement of no light importance, in view of the fact 
that this furnace is now adopted and successfully operated, 
and its superior merits acknowledged by the most important 
of the iron, steel, and glass manufactories, in both Europe 
and America. 

See " Facts about Peat " for detailed statements on the 
subject of gas. 

PEAT FOP GUNPOWDEP. 

During the last two years we have furnished considerable 
quantities of peat fuel, to be used in the composition of gun- 
powder ; are shipping the present week a lot of 300 hundred 
barrels to one concern, and have orders on hand, to be filled 
during the season, amounting to full 200 tons more, — all 
for the same purpose. 

This is sufficient to indicate that the day of experiments in 
the matter is past, and that the demand for the material is 
for actual use. 



59 



WHAT IS THE MAEKET EOR PEAT FUEL? 

In all manufacturing or producing business,, the question 
of demand is full as important as the matter of supply, and 
among those to whom the subject of cheap fuel comes for the 
first time, as a matter to be considered, the inquiry is not 
unfrequently made, " Can it be sold ? " A moment's reflection, 
in most cases, brings about as prompt a reply as the Irish- 
man's question, " Would a duck swim?" 

Now every family, every place of business, — be it office, 
store, or workshop, — every manufacturing establishment, 
and every railroad in the land, are consumers of fuel ; in 
fact, every man we meet is a purchaser of fuel in some 
shape ; some on a small scale, but very many on not only a 
large scale, but in quantities that are simply immense. 
Moreover, in some of our heaviest establishments it is the 
prime article of necessity, the mainstay of the business, the 
basis of power ; without it manufacturing enterprise would 
be impotent of action, and transportation, another great ne- 
cessity of all mercantile and commercial transactions, would 
fail, both by sea and by land. 

It is a fact, too, that in no one article of common neces- 
sity, not even the bread we eat, is the quality and price so 
closely scrutinized and carefully considered by every purcha- 
ser, large and small, as in the article of fuel. 

Without attempting to discuss the matter here, it is suffi- 
cient to say, that the brief statements given in these pages, 
from reliable authorities, show that peat fuel, properly pre- 
pared, is a good fuel, superior even, in many respects, for 
many purposes, to either wood or coal. 

It is also shown, with equal clearness, that it exists in 
immense quantities, and can be manufactured and produced 
at very small cost, as compared with either wood or coal. 

In other words, it is a good, cheap fuel. This being the 
case, the natural result hardly need be stated, for a good 
article, of common necessity, when offered low, commands a 



60 

sale. The people, when once made aware of these facts, 
ivill buy it. 

And it is not too much to say, that in any place where it 
is produced, the demand will, for many years, be likely to 
exceed the supply ; which will certainly be considered a 
healthy condition of things for producers of the fuel. 

Among extracts from correspondence, on previous pages, 
will be observed quite a number of instances where the 
demand for this fuel, in large quantities, is distinctly stated, 
the fact of its value for the purposes required being now past 
question. 

They are given here only as illustrating a very large num- 
ber of cases of similar character, which are constantly coming 
to our notice by direct correspondence ; while within the 
circle of our own personal acquaintance the cases are numer- 
ous of heavy concerns, who would be purchasers of hun- 
dreds and thousands of tons of peat fuel, at handsomely pay- 
ing rates (and still consider it cheap) the moment they could 
be assured of a steady and constant supply. 

The demand for this fuel for domestic purposes, on similar 
grounds, is equally apparent. 

EXTENT OF PEAT DEPOSITS IN AMERICA. 

The peat deposits all through the Northern and Western 
States and in Canada are immense. 

The beds or bogs of peat are so freely distributed that it 
would probably average as near a market or place of con- 
sumption as does the ordinary present supply of wood and 
coal ; while in some regions, especially at the West, where 
neither wood nor coal are found, the supply of peat is shown 
to be abundant and of especial importance. 

In illustration of this bitter remark, we quote from Prof. 
C. A. White, State geologist of Iowa, who writes, — 

" It supplies a want which would otherwise prevent the full 
settlement of large districts of our State for a generation to 
come" 



61 

The extent, depth, and quality of the deposits vary con- 
siderably, and seem to depend upon circumstances quite 
distinct from each other. 

Some cover only a few acres, while others are many miles 
in extent. 

Their depth varies full as much, say from one to twenty 
feet, though many are reported to be thirty, fifty, and even 
eighty feet deep ; but an average of the depth of what may 
be considered our peat regions would probably be somewhere 
from six to twelve feet. 

Extended reports in regard to the localities in which it is 
found in the several States, are given in the book entitled 
" Facts About Peat." 

COAL DUST AND PEAT. 

By a modification of our machinery for manufacturing 
peat, we are also enabled to accomplish most perfectly the 
utilization of coal-dust; an article which, it is well-known, 
accumulates in very large quantities at the mines, in coal- 
yards, and elsewhere, and is generally considered of little or 
no value. 

The coal-dust is mingled and manufactured with peat, in 
such proportions, and in such manner, as to produce a com- 
pound of great strength and solidity, which hums more freely 
than coal, yields an intense heat, cokes perfectly, and is pecu- 
liarly well adapted for severe steam service ; also for the smelt- 
ing of ores and the manufacture of gas for illuminating 
purposes. 

Repeated experiments demonstrate these facts fully. The 
fuel is manufactured at a cost, for labor, of less than one 
dollar per ton, after the materials are at the works. 

It is an ascertained fact, of no little importance, that salt 
water or marine peats are of value fully equal, and in some 
respects superior, to inland peats, for this purpose. 

There are in the immediate vicinity of New York city 
extensive deposits of marine peat, of the value of which, 



62 

when mixed with coal-dust, of which there are large quanti- 
ties near at hand, few, probably, have any adequate idea. 
It would require but short time and moderate expense to 
develop them. 

The men who were ready and eager to sink large sums in 
oil wells, at a distance, are slow to observe the wealth that 
lies plainly before them nearer home, in the mines which 
multitudes pass over every day. 

The next generation will wonder that this generation of 
enterprising men is so blind. 

The poorer qualities of bituminous coals which prevail in 
the West, and yield, when burning, so much smoke and soot, 
if compounded with peat in the manner described, will make 
a clean fuel, which will burn with great freedom, and yield 
but a trifling amount of smoke ; a fact which it will be 

admitted is worthy of consideration. 

■ 

PEAT AS A FERTILIZER. 

u Peat is highly concentrated vegetable food,'' and pos- 
sesses a value to the farming and agricultural interests of the 
country far beyond what is generally accorded to it. 

We have prepared it in the form of a poudret (com- 
pounded with ammonial matter) during two seasons, and the 
united testimony of those who have used it is, that it is a 
superior fertilizer. We have given it the name of the Bay 
State Fertilizer. 

It is our purpose here only to allude to the subject. It is 
treated of at length in Dana's " Much Manual" " Johnson's 
Essays on Peat, Muck, and Commercial Manures" and in 
" Facts about Feat" 



The various matters which have been briefly alluded to 
in the foregoing pages, and many others relating to the sub- 
ject of peat, are all treated of much more fully and in detail 
in the work entitled 

"FACTS ABOUT PEAT:" 

A volume originally issued in pamphlet form, but now re- 
vised and enlarged to upwards of 300 pages. Price, $1.75. 
It is published by Lee & Shepard, 149 Washington 
Street, Boston ; and is also for sale by Orange Judd & Co., 
No. 245 Broadway, New York, — either of whom will for- 
ward it to any address, on receipt of the price. 

EP 3 The table of " Contents " of the above work is given 
on the following pages, together with " Opinions of the 
Press," and a portion of the " Appendix," in order that 
parties desiring information may form some opinion of the 
elaborate manner in which the subject is there treated. 

(63) 



CONTENTS OF THE BOOK 

ENTITLED 

FACTS ABOUT FEAT. 



PAGE 

Introduction to Third Edition 7 

Preliminary Remarks 9 

Importance attached to fire ; its universal use ; full value and influence 
upon changes in nature; heat, light, and fuel essential to man ; artificial 
heat required in useful arts ; its use as motive-power comparatively mod- 
ern ; influence of fuel upon the political power of a country ; material 
sources of heat ; substances employed as fuel; fuel a source of wealth ; 
what substances are termed fuel ; when inflammable fuels are required, 
and how peat answers such requirements ; wood, peat, and coal allied ; 
changes induced by physical effects ; analogy existing between peat and 
coal; vegetable origin; peat as fuel comparatively unknown; value of 
peat not realized ; aim of former manufacturers ; numerous machines, 
but no satisfactory method of manufacture ; failure through lack of com- 
prehension of nature of peat ; popular error in manufacture of peat ; 
simplicity and cheapness of recent inventions ; superiority of peat for 
domestic and manufacturing purposes ; peat for generating steam ; can 
compete in cost with coal; peat for railroads; every manufactory can 
have its own peat-meadow, and the result of such ownership ; Profes- 
sor Emmons's remarks and opinions. 

Origin and Composition of Peat 20 

What is it? color and consistency; natural history; theories of for- 
mation; peat in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Holland, and 
France ; area, depth, and quality; stratification with gravel, clay, shells, 
&c; opinions of Professor Dana, Macculloch, Williams, Sir James Hall, 
Dr. Rennie, and others ; " recent peat " and " older peat : " peat-mead- 
ows may be probed, and how ; density ; percentage of moisture ; highly 
inflammable ; animal and vegetable remains found in peat-bogs ; per- 
centage of ash; odor from burning peat; peat peculiar to cold climates; 
peat in England, Scotland, and France ; Professor Lyell and Dr. Darwin 
quoted ; early mention of peat from various authorities ; sweet and 
wholesome fire for invalids. 

Methods of Preparation for Fuel 32 

Primitive methods of cutting and preparing peat-fuel; peat-knife or 
slane described ; recent operations at Barnstable; peat sold in Boston; 
" hand-peat " in Holland and Ireland ; machines for cutting peat ; dredg- 
ing peat ; best peat-cutter, and what it will accomplish ; B. H. Paul on 
" The Utilization of Peat ; " method in Scotland ; methods of manufac- 
ture in Europe, devised by Williams, Codbold, Stones, Buckland, Hodg- 
son, Gwynne & Co., Mannhardt, Exter, Versmann, Challeton, Siemens, 
Weber, Gysser, Schlickensen, and others, comprising thzwet process and 
dry process; advantages and disadvantages of the two processes ; meth- 
ods of manufacture in America; variety of presses and machines; de- 
scription of works at Lexington, Mass.,Pekin, N. Y., Bulstrode, C. W., 
Belleville, N. J., comprising the Ashcroft & Betteley, Roberts, Hodges, 
Elsberg, and Leavitt machines; estimates for putting up peat-works; 
cost of labor to manufacture peat-fuel ; data concerning peat-beds, and 
results of observation from practical operations at the works of the 
Boston Peat Co. at Lexington ; method of working ; yield of dry fuel ; 
specific gravity ; weight per cord ; quality improves by age ; should be 
housed ; drying peat ; peculiarities ; what is required ; steady progress 
is being made. 

l . (i) 



2 CONTENTS. 

Peat-Charcoal 69 

Simple mode of carbonizing ; advantage gained by coking; density- 
superior to best wood-charcoal ; calorific power intense ; specimens in 
Great Exhibition at Paris in 1851 ; peat and peat-charcoal used in Paris; 
general principles of carbonizing the same in all countries ; Professor 
Johnson on its value and uses; comparative value of charcoal from peat 
manufactured by the dry and wet processes, with tests; high heating 
power; disinfecting and fertilizing qualities. 

Peat in Europe 73 

Ireland ; Mr. Griffith's description of bogs of Ireland ; bog of Don rail ; 
how bog-timber is found; " The Bog of Allen;" extent of peat soil in 
Ireland; value of amount cut, and importance of peat in Ireland ; Mr. 
Aher quoted ; forests overthrown and covered with peat ; timber, coins, 
arms, and utensils found in peat j forests destroyed ; bog-iron ore. 

Peat in France 81 

Peat-fuel for Paris market; where cut; quantity ; value ; peat-charcoal 
and ashes; "best fuel the earth produces;" French treatise on peat; 
uses of peat and charcoal; value of peat-ashes; estimates of the value of 
peat-fuel by French engineers; consumption of fuel of all kinds in 
France; its equivalent in peat; cost of working" pig iron; economy of 
peat for all purposes ; estimate of peat-fuel required for the entire loco- 
motive service of France; bulk of peat-fuel; testimony of Supt. of R. R. 
Engineers ; density of peat-fuel. 

Peat in Italy 87 

Successful introduction of peat in the puddling of iron and steel ; ac- 
complished by the Siemens Gas Furnace ; iron mines of Elba; amount 
of pig iron produced. 

Peat on the Falkland Islands 88 

Destitute of coal and wood ; peat is abundant. 

Peat in Newfoundland 88 

Large quantities of good peat ; the manufacture of it commenced. 

Peat in Nova Scotia 88 

Peat-bogs numerous ; well decomposed and bituminous. 

Peat in Asia 89 

Major Risley's account of "combustible mud;" tried on locomotive 
at Cawnpore; compared with wood ; cost; superstitions of the natives. 

Peat in Canada 90 

Location, character, and extent of deposits of peat ; Mr. Ilodges's oper- 
ations ; experiments on Grand Trunk R. R. ; contract to furnish peat to 
G. T. R. R. Co. ; importance of the fuel question in Canada ; estimate of 
annual amount to be saved by the use of peat; government should aid 
the peat-fuel enterprise; probabilities of sufficient supply; present suf- 
fering and privation for lack of cheap fuel; supply abundant; requires 
only enterprise and capital. 

Peat in Maine 101 

Statements by Dr. JackSOn J analysis; similarity to coal; theory of 
its formation; superiority over wood and coal; abundant deposits ; 
localities; may be used for burning lime and for domestic purposes; 
Campo Hello. 

Peat in Ki;w HAMPSHIRE 103 

Deposits numerous and of excellent quality; localities; prospects. 

Peat in Vermont 104 

Peat beds in all parts of the State ; great depth ; interesting peculiari- 
ties J localities; marl-beds; beaver works; remarkable discoveries; 



CONTENTS. 6 

bones of elephants found in peat ; peat suitable fgr gas ; peat at great 
elevation. 

Peat in Massachusetts 108 

Dr. Hitchcock's statements and opinions ; eighty thousand acres of 
peat in the State ; peat fever; localities; varieties of peat; peculiarities 
of peat-beds ; submerged forests; letter from Elias Phinney; peat-fuel 
as compared with wood; formation of peat ; when and how to cut and 
cure; its value; Dr. Rennie on peat; peat-water astringent and anti- 
septic; salubrity and healthfulness of peat-bogs; similarity of peat and 
coal ; similarity of origin. 

Peat in Rhode Island .... 117 

Peat in nearly every town in the State ; some of excellent quality, and 
is to be worked for fuel; manufacturing interests promoted by it. 

Peat in Connecticut 118 

Rich in deposits of peat; Professor Johnson's report; localities; 
preparations for producing the fuel; its importance to manufacturing 
establishments and railroads. 

Peat jn New York .120 

Reports by Professor Mather, Mr. Vanuxem, and Dr. Emmons; high 
economical value of peat ; extracts from reports ; importance urged ; 
great body of heat ; substitute for best Liverpool coal ; how to test it; 
where to find it; ranks next to coal for sustaining high temperature; 
abundance and cheapness commend it to public attention; extended list 
of localities ; bones of the mastodon found in peat in several localities; 
ostrich egg in peat ; numerous peat-beds on Long Island ; peat is an im- 
portant item in the natural resources of wealth in the State. 

Peat in New Jersey 138 

Deposits numerous; interest manifested ; localities; marl beds; cedar 
swamps, and what is found in them ; great age of some of the trees; 
peat very pure; large amount of timber raised from the swamps; used 
for rails and shingles ; immense bogs. 

Peat in Pennsylvania . . . 141 

Peat-bogs are unripe beds of coal; interesting and valuable extracts 
from Geological Report of the State ; description of a very peculiar peat- 
bog in Denmark; Dismal Swamp ; the beautiful economy of nature ; its 
laws are simple ; progress slow ; results wonderful ; remarkable bed of 
lignite in Germany ; another peculiar deposit in Denmark. 

Peat in Virginia 146 

The Great Dismal Swamp ; peat companies to operate in it; "Bare Gar- 
den ; " peculiarities of growth and formation: analyses of peats by Pro- 
fessors Johnson and Silliman; formation of these deposits; quality and 
depth of peat ; Dismal Swamp Canal ; peculiarities of the wood, water, 
and atmosphere of the swamp ; choice timber : rich and pure peat; facil- 
ities for manufacture and shipment ; area and depth ; capital and enter- 
prise attracted ; sweetwater: antiseptic properties. 

Peat in Ohio 156 

Information wanted. 

Peat in Michigan 156 

Letter from Professor Winchell ; deposits numerous, deep, and of good 
quality; importance of the subject to housekeeper, capitalist, and man- 
ufacturer; analyses; supply inexhaustible ; operations commenced. 

Peat in Indiana 159 

Thousands of acres of good quality ; operations commenced ; one bog 
containing one hundred and eighty square miles of peat, forty feet deep ; 
ample supply along the lines of railroads. 



4 CONTENTS. 

Peat in Illinois- 161 

Valuable deposits ; supply of coal ; consumption of coal ; high cost of 
coal; importance of the fuel question; peat and its uses for domestic 
purposes, manufacturing- and locomotive service ; advantages to result 
from the introduction of peat-fuel; " cheap fuel " will make Chicago a 
great manufacturing city ; explorations and anticipations. 

Peat in Wisconsin 164 

Peat is abundant ; wood and coal scarce ; characteristics of peat-beds 
in this region; Dr. Hayes's report on Wisconsin peat; calorific power 
and illuminating properties; the " Northern Farmer " on peat ; impor- 
tant source of wealth ; more valuable than coal ; cost of manufacture j 
saves the timber ; worthless marsh lands are now valuable as coal-beds ; 
money and enterprise are invited. 

Peat in Iowa 168 

Importance of the subject; State Geologist is investigating; lack of 
fuel is a great hinderance to the settlement of the State; peat offers to 
remedy the difficulty ; letter from Dr. White, State Geologist ; forma- 
tion of peat; its value ; successful method and machinery for preparing 
it ; lack of timber and coal ; explorations for peat to be continued. 

Peat in Minnesota 170 

What the " St. Paul Press " says ; exhaustless deposits of peat in every 
Northern State ; Minnesota " beats all creation " on peat ; peat and pe- 
troleum ; peat machines ; green bass-wood at eight dollars per cord, and 
a hint to " enterprising citizens." 

Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada 173 

Rumors and reports of extensive peat deposits; government orders to 
explore, investigate, and report. 

Peat in California 173 

Tula marshes identical with peat; inquiries instituted. 

Peat in the Manufacture of Iron 173 

Peat can be used economically and profitably ; early experience with 
coal ; peat has been successfully employed in England, France, Italy, 
Bohemia, Bavaria, Westphalia, Wurtemberg, and elsewhere; peat-coke 
is of greater value than best wood-charcoal. Peat preferable for welding, 
fine iron work, &c. ; can be used in puddling and reverberatory furnaces 
and forges, and in blast furnaces ; comparative heating power ; advan- 
tage gained by condensing peat; particulars concerning the use of peat 
in iron works at Kouigsbronn, Ichoux, Ransko, Schlaekehwerth, Wei- 
herhammcr, Magdeberg, Nerecia, and in Italy; comparative cost and 
results ; importance of the subject to France, Germany, and Sweden ; 
extracts from published statements; iron made with peat charcoal will 
not splinter; peat used in smelting lead ; gas furnaces for the treatment 
of metals and glass ; description of the Siemens Regenerative Gas Fur- 
nace, ami the practicability of employing peat and other cheap fuels in 
it; advantages to accrue to certain sections from the adoption of this 
process; establishments now using it; W.E.Newton before Soc. of 
Arts ; experiments and results; D. K. Clark, C. E., before Brit. Asso. ; 
further experiments, results, and opinions ; iron metallurgists are agreed ; 
tests in Sweden and (Jermany, at BoltOD and llorwieh ; reports of Mr. 
Sanderson of Sheffield, Mr. Kothergill of Oldham, Messrs. Brown and 

Lennox, Professor Emmons, Mr. BffoDougall, Mr. Campbell, Professor 
Johnson, and Lond. Bieeh. Mag., embodying tests, experiments, opin- 
ions, and results; economical use of peat ; peal in Austria in puddling, 

reheating, ami blast furnaces. 

Peat as Applied fob Generating Steam . . . 198 

Use of peat on steamers; Mr. Williams's patents; peat for fireworks, 



CONTENTS. 5 

and for softening steel ; Mr. Brunton, Mr. Paul, and Professor Em- 
mons ; statements and illustrations; Mr. Nursey before Soc. of Engi- 
neers, on English coal fields ; deposits of peat in Great Britain and Ire- 
land; cost of peat-fuel; qualities superior to coal; experiments on 
steamboat and locomotive, in smelting iron, in puddling furnace, and for 
producing gas ; Lond. Mech. Mag. ; statements and opinions ; peat is the 
only fuel for locomotives in South Bavaria; used on an English rail- 
way ; test at the Horwich works ; trial on Paris and Lyons R. R. ; no 
smoke, much gas, constant flame; advantages of peat for steam-fuel 
enumerated ; saving of grate-bars and furnaces ; trials by Nar. Brick 
Co. on N. Y. Central, Hartford, and Spr., Hud. River, Eastern, and Vt. 
Central, and Grand Trunk railroads, with details of cost and results ; 
trials at East Boston and Lowell ; the fuel is proved to be "good; " 
" the people have to learn how to use it." 

Peat for Domestic Purposes 21$ 

Importance of observing how to use it ; methods and appliances for 
using it economically and advantageously ; statements and opinions ; 
peat used in Boston and vicinity ; peat for kindling; peat sold in boxes 
like wood, and in bulk like coal. 

Intensity of Heat generated by Peat . . . . 221 

Intense heating properties are of special importance : comparative 
composition of fuels ; comparative importance of quantity and intensity 
of heat; reasons for converting coal into coke, and wood into charcoal. 

How to use Peat 223 

Peats differ in quality and characteristics in same manner as woods 
and coals ; stoves, furnaces, grates, drafts, &c, to be adapted ; ap- 
pliances required are simple ; for locomotives and stationary engines ; 
use of fuel dry and partially dried ; progress of economy in the use of 
fuels generally. 

Gas from Peat 230 

Tested in Europe ; yield equal to coal ; brilliancy and power superior ; 
early experiments ; gas furnaces for iron in France, Germany, Prussia, 
and Sweden ; used at Dartmoor prison ; high illuminating power of 
peat gas and peat oil compared with coal gas ; statements by Mr. Paul, 
Mr. Keats, Mr. Brunton, Mr. Versmann, and Professor Emmons ; ad- 
vantages of peat for gas ; importance for gas second only to coal for 
fuel; tests by Dr. Hayes; experiments at Portland, Utica, Lansing- 
burg, &c. ; retorts for producing it ; quantity, density, and illuminating 
power as compared with gas from coal. 

Peat in Gunpowder and Fireworks 239 

Superior to charcoal from dog-wood and alder : combustion more in- 
stantaneous and perfect ; used in Europe for brilliant colored fires. 

Chemical Products from the Distillation of Peat 240 

Statements by Lord Ashley in 1849; tests by Dr. Hodges; estimate 
by Coffey & Sons, for producing on a large scale; expenditures and 
returns; Professor Brande's opinions; products of destructive distilla- 
tion ; bleaching properties of peat-charcoal ; Irish Peat Company's opera- 
tions ; B. H. Paul on the manufacture of hydro-carbon oils, paramne, 
&c, from peat ; analine colors and paramne candles from peat. 

Analyses and Properties of Peat 247 

Ultimate elements ; chemical products ; reports of analyses ; contents 
of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen ; percentage of ashes ; specific 
gravity and composition of peat ashes ; methods of analyses and distilla- 
tion ; water, tar, charcoal, gas ; ammonia, acetic acid, naphtha, paraffme, 
Oils ; products estimated by the Irish Peat Company ; heating power of 
peat-turf (not condensed) and peat-charcoal ; relative calorific power, by 



6 CONTENTS. 

the " Litharge test ; " peat coke compared with coal coke; lead melted 
and water heated ; specific gravity of peats ; peat coke superior to char- 
coal ; calorific value or power of peat coke equal to coal cOke — evaporat- 
ing powers of the two nearly equal 5 freedom from sulphur ; decided 
superiority for working iron, brass, and copper. 

Tests, Experiments, and Testimony 261 

# Statements concerning trials of peat-fuel ; the practicability of using 
it; relative value and heating power ; purposes for which it may be easily, 
effectually, and economically used; statements and opinions of practical 
and scientific men; miscellaneous tests and statements; peat-charcoal, 
its density and calorific power ; working iron ; generating steam ; for 
domestic purposes; intensity of heating power; how to use peat ; appli- 
ances for burning peat ; gas from peat ; gunpowder and fireworks ; chem- 
ical products ; analyses and properties ; specific gravity of peat and peat 
charcoal ; how to compare peat with other fuels. 

Peat for Pavements 263 

How prepared with carbonate of lime and coal tar ; resembles asphalt. 

Paper from Peat 263 

Experiments in France and America. 

Peat for Building and Ornamental "Work . . 264 

How prepared ; used for ornamental work on buildings, for toys, fancy 
articles, rings, and jewelry; resembles India-rubber. 

Peat for Tanning Leather 265 

Said to possess properties valuable for this purpose. 

Antiseptic Properties of Peat 266 

Remarkable cases of the preservation of human bodies, animals, &c, 
in peat ; quotations from Dr. Rennie and Professor Lyell. 

Peat as a Disinfectant and Deodorizing Agent 269 

Properties well known; " Chemical Deodorizing Powder" nothing but 
peat; " it is really the abater of every nuisance." 

Peat as a Fertilizer 270 

Its value to agricultural interests ; ingredients, qualities, and proper- 
ties ; analyses ; weight, compositon, and comparative value. 

Ashes of Peat 271 

Value, use, and composition; used for cement and polishing powder. 

Conclusions 274 

The subject is of sufficient importance to command earnest attention 
from the business man and the philanthropist. 

Authorities Quoted 275 

Utilization of Coal Dust with Peat . . . . 277 

A compound fuel of excellent quality, produced at moderate cost, and 
specially adapted for steam service; method and cost of manufacture j 
facilities for producing it along the lines of railroad j saving in cost of 
fuel; report of experiments on Western Railroad j results and conclu- 
sions; Importance of this Invention to mining and gas companies. 

Appendix 287 

Vlainlv devoted to extracts from newspapers from all sections of the 

country, embracing a greal variety of statement* and observations, of no 

less interest and importance than those contained in the body of the work, 
and equally worthy of careful perusal and consideration. 



APPENDIX OF THE WORK 



ENTITLED 



FACTS ABOUT PEAT 



We have felt a degree of pride at the exceedingly favor- 
able mention which has been made of the former editions of 
this work by the press, in all directions, but we have expe- 
rienced a much greater degree of satisfaction in observing 
the remarks, oftentimes at considerable length, which have 
been added, upon the subject-matter of which it treats, show- 
ing a quick appreciation of its importance, and a readiness, 
voluntarily, to aid in disseminating information concerning 
it, which is rarely accorded to any new enterprise. 

Some of the following extracts are of general, others of 
local, interest ; but all are worthy of careful perusal : certain 
it is, that all, with one accord, bear earnest testimony to the 
value of " peat as an article of fuel." 

From " The New York Independent." 

The Economical Value of Peat. — The great desideratum as to the use 
of peat has been to devise a method of consolidating it into a, manageable and 
merchantable form at a moderate expense. The practicability of condensing it 
so as to produce an article of fuel of great value has been abundantly proved by 
numerous successful experiments. And it has also been shown by experiment 
that this fuel, when well prepared, has qualities which make it equal to any 
other, and, for some uses, superior to any. 

To burn in an open grate, in a sitting-room, it is both economical and agree- 
able; and for an open fire in a sick-chamber (where none but an open fire ought 
ever to be allowed), it is invaluable as a purifier of the air, without the produc- 
tion of any sulphurous or other injurious gas. For steam purposes, it is quick- 
er and more effective than any thing else, and would be of great use in driving 
our steam fire-engines. In making and refining iron, it is at least equal to 
charcoal; and, in the finer grades of iron-work, it is invaluable. It furnishes 
an illuminating gas, having, at least, double the power of coal gas; and many 
experiments place its comparative value much higher, while a great saving is 
effected in the manufacture by the entire absence of sulphur. 

The one essential problem has been to invent an economical method by which 
its natural porousness could be overcome so as to solidify it in more convenient 

(2*7) 



288 APPENDIX. 

blocks, that can be handled and transported, and that will burn without crum- 
bling to pieces in the fire. The Boston Peat Company, No. 49 Congress Street, 
Boston, have perfected a process which appears to be completely successful, 
and at such a moderate expense as to admit of general application wherever 
there are peat-bogs of the extent of even an acre or more. 

By a machine of simple construction, but on a novel principle, the crude peat, 
wet as it comes from the ground, is dumped into a hopper, completely pulver- 
ized, so as to destroy the porousness, which no pressure can wholly overcome, 
and delivered in moulds, like bricks, which are dried in the open air for two 
or three weeks, and are then ready for delivery as good solid fuel, nearly as 
heavy as Liverpool coal. The machine costs fifteen hundred dollars, requires 
ten-horse power, and will work one hundred tons of crude peat in a day, mak- 
ing twenty -five tons or more of condensed fuel per day to each machine. The 
ordinary calculation in the city for that amount of steam-power is about twenty- 
five dollars a week; but as this machine would produce its own fuel, and may 
even be run with the refuse and unmerchantable stuff, the cost is much reduced. 
A further reduction would take place where several machines are run by one 
engine. The cost of ground for drying, and sheds for storage, may be less or 
more at pleasure. As neither the peat, nor the land it occupies, possesses any 
value in its natural state, all that is charged for royalty is simply so much 
wealth created by this great discovery. 

There is no lack of peat in this country to supply abundance of fuel for cen- 
turies. It is found in all parts of the Northern States, and as far south as 
"Virginia, in vast quantities. The Geological Report of the State of New York 
describes and locates more than ten thousand acres in the river counties 
alone. In the central and western sections, the quantities are almost illimit- 
able. In Massachusetts, the Geological Report names nearly one hundred 
towns which have supplies of peat. Is is so in New Jersey, in Connecticut, on 
Long Island, and elsewhere. 

In sections where other fuel is difficult to be obtained, and very costly, they 
may have by this process an abundance of the best and most pleasant kind of 
fuel, both for domestic uses and for manufactures. 

When we consider that every acre of peat is calculated to be good for a 
thousand tons of condensed fuel, worth now eight or ten dollars a ton, at a 
cost of less than three dollars a ton for preparation, the amount of solid wealth 
which this invention will add to the country quite leaves petroleum in tho 
background. 

From " The Boston Journal.'" 

The high price of coal, and the rapid destruction of our forests, ought to 
stimulate the people of New England, and indeed of the whole North, to an 
investigation of the feasibility of bringing peat into general use as an article of 
fuel. Wood is every year growing scarcer in New England, and the use of coal 
is fast spreading among country towns, where, a few years ago, the article was 
never seen. Our people have been prodigally wasteful of their wood-lots; and 
we are fast becoming dependent upon Pennsylvania and the British Provinces 
for all our fuel. Asa consequence, we have been compelled to pay seventeen 
dollars per ton for coal in this city the past winter; and inland towns have paid 
eighteen or twenty dollars, while wood was sixteen dollars per cord. All the 
great, cities on the Atlantic coast, hare been entirely at the mercy of coal opera- 
tors and speculators, and most exorbitant prices have been asked. 

Were wood and coal the only articles that can he used for cooking and heat- 
ing purposes, we might be reconciled to this state of things. Hut there is in 
New England, and indeed throughout the North, a great abundance of peat. 

One obstacle to the use of peat has been the difficulty of compressing it so as 



APPENDIX. 289 

to render it less bulky, owing to its fibrous nature, which stoutly resists con- 
densation. This difficulty has been overcome by machinery. 

Experiments have recently been made, under the auspices of some enter- 
prising merchants of Boston, for utilizing peat as a fuel. The experiments 
made here have been completely successful; and, if the sanguine expectations 
of those who have been engaged in this are realized, New England will, at no 
distant period, supply her own fuel. 

It is well known that peat has been used for fuel, to some extent, in Eastern 
Massachusetts for several years. There is an abundance of it — thousands of 
millions of cords — scattered all over New England; and it is time, as we re- 
marked at the outset, that our people were stirring themselves to see if it may 
not be brought into general use in order to stop the waste of our forests, now 
growing every year more valuable for timber, cheapen the cost of fuel, and 
render us less dependent upon coal monopolists and speculators for this indis- 
pensable article. It lies at our very doors, and there is no reason why its 
value should not be developed. 

From " The Portland (Me.) Transcript." 

Any thing that will give the people relief from the present high prices of 
coal, and tend to break up the monopoly of the coal-mining interest, while, at 
the same time, it saves our forests from further destruction, is worthy of a 
hearty patronage and encouragement ; and we hope to see the attention of 
capitalists turned to the manufacture of peat. The people of Maine, so far 
removed from the coal-region, and paying so much for its transportation, 
should no longer neglect the rich deposits of fuel in the peat-beds scattered 
throughout the State. Dr. Jackson, in his Geological Survey of Maine, long 
since directed attention to the numerous valuable accumulations of this fossil 
fuel. He says, — 

" The time may arrive when, even in Maine, wood becoming scarce, her 
neglected peat-bogs will be resorted to for fuel ; though here, as in many other 
sections, were the superiority of the article over even wood or coal known and 
appreciated, the bogs would be worked now, rather than to await the period at 
which, for lack of other fuel, their valuable deposits shall be drawn upon." 

He also says, that the localities of peat in Maine are so numerous, that it is 
hardly necessary to describe them, but points out localities in Bangor, Bluehill, 
Thomaston, Limerick, Waterford, and near Portland. 

From il The Berkshire County Eagle." 

The subject is one which should receive especial attention in New England, 
where the resources of fuel are not what they need to be. 

Railroad men and manufacturers regard peat as superior to coal for the gen- 
eration of steam, and the manufacture of iron and steel. 

From "The "New York Evening Post." 

II iu one of many unphilosophical things in the social history of our people, 
that so little progress has been made in the use of peat. It would seem as 
though we had been slow to believe that it was made to be used. As a natural 
product, under the wise ordering of things by the Creator, it is found in abun- 
dance in all parts of the country, as low down as the Dismal Swamp of Vir- 
ginia, in positions easily accessible, and in forms and qualities suited for every 
purpose of fuel. 

In its crude state, the peats most common are not so agreeable as wood or 
coal for domestic purposes j but the finer qualities of peat are preferable to 

19 



290 APPENDIX. 

cither, and most of the common sorts are capable of being condensed info a 
perfect and most desirable fuel. Being entirely free from sulphurous and 
other objectionable ingredients found in coal, it makes a delightful fire in the 
grate, giving a charm to the parlor, and a delight to the sick-chamber. For 
raising steam, it is unrivalled by any other substance. One advantage is, that 
it creates no clinkers, and does not spoil the grate-bars like anthracite. In 
making the best iron, and in the finer processes of working iron and steel, it 
stands alongside of wood-charcoal. When charred, it is said to be better for 
welding purposes than charcoal itself. Many peats are also superior to the 
best bituminous coals for making gas. It is said that some varieties of peat 
are better for gunpowder than the charcoal made from dog-wood and alder. 

In the preparation of peat for convenient handling and use, a great variety 
of methods has been tried. The oldest and best peats are so solid and fine, 
that they dry into a hard substance like cannel coal, without any artificial pro- 
cess except cutting the blocks of proper size out of the bog, and laying them 
on the ground to dry. But most kinds are too light and porous for convenient 
use, and burn with much smoke and less heat, unless artificially condensed. 
The most common method was by pressure; but this is expensive, and not 
fully effectual. 

We have seen specimens of condensed peat, prepared by the Boston Peat 
Company, which appear to come nearer to the ideal fuel than anything else 
within our knowledge. 

A single machine, driven by a six-horse steam power, will work fifty tons 
of raw peat in a day, which will yield about one fourth to one third of its 
weight in condensed fuel. 

As a peat-swamp is generally unproductive, and therefore useless for agri- 
cultural purpose, it follows that the cost of fuel is the expense of manufacture, 
with the addition of the value which the demand may give to land otherwise 
worthless. The Boston Peat Company have patented their processes, and sell 
their machines. 

From "The Syracuse Journal." 

Peat as Fuel. — This article is soon destined to enter into lively competi- 
tion with anthracite; and the probable effect will be that the "coal monopo- 
lists " will.be brought to their senses and fair terms at the same time. 

The article of peat as fuel was put to a test on the Central Railroad yesterday, 
and proved highly satisfactory. 

There is an extensive bed of peat at Oswego Falls, opposite the village of 
Fulton, in Oswego County, on land owned by Bradford Kennedy, Esq., hard- 
ware merchant, of this city. For the purpose of testing its quality as fuel, a 
quantity was dried and prepared in the usual way, to be tested on one of the 
locomotives of the Central Railroad. Half a ton of that article, dried and 
ready for use, was sent down to this city, and Engine No. 106, a wood-burner, 
made ready for a short trial trip. Superintendent Lapham, oi' the Central, ami 
Superintendent Van Vleck, of the Oswego Road, together with a party of other 
gentlemen, including Messrs. Howe and W. S. Nelson of Fulton, Derastea 
Kellogg oi' Skaneatelcs, Mr. Ceddes, .Jr., Mr. Southmeade of New York, and 

others, witnessed the trial. The locomotive was fired up at the Round House 

in this city, adjacent to the Central machine-shops, and run to Warner's Station 
and hack, a distance of twenty miles, in the space of forty-five minutes. The 
engine drew but, the car containing the excursionists, and was propelled at a 
moderate speed, without any attempt at "making time;" the Object being 

merely to test the article of fuel. The peat made a beautiful fire, throwing out 
intense heat, and burned with a steady flame. The steam was kept at an even 

gauge of from ninety to one hundred pounds during the trial trip, and Superin- 



APPENDIX. 291 

tendents Lapham and Van Vleck were highly pleased with the test of peat as 
fuel, pronouncing it a success. We understand that the usual amount of fuel 
consumed by coal-burning engines is a ton to every twenty miles; but, in this 
instance, only half a ton of peat was used, giving evidence of its value as a sub- 
stitute for anthracite. 

From "The Springfield (Mass.) Republican." 

Peat contains the same chemical constituents as coal ; indeed it seems to be 
only an imperfect form of the same material, — young coal, coal in the crude. 

In Maine, beds of coal have been found in draining a bog, evidently formed 
from the wood of a species of fir, the balsam of which had been changed to 
bitumen, with which the deposit is very highly charged. 

Peat has long been used for firing in some locations, especially in Ireland, 
where it makes a sweet and wholesome fire, safer for delicate lungs than either 
coal or wood. The heat is less drying, the ashes less troublesome, and the 
smoke does not irritate the eyes. 

In its native beds, peat is heavily charged with water; and the want of a 
cheap method of drying and condensing it has prevented its being burned to 
any extent in this country; but modern researches have removed this objec- 
tion, and means have been found for preparing it as fuel in large quantities, in 
merchantable shape, at a cost of four or five dollars a ton. The process has 
been patented ; and the company, organized in Boston, has works now in oper- 
ation in Lexington, Mass. The fuel is claimed to surpass coal for many pur- 
poses, especially for generating steam, and for the manufacture of iron and 
steel. 

Peat-charcoal is denser than that from wood; and, as it contains no sulphur, 
iron made with it is of superior quality, and will not splinter. 

Gas from peat has been used for some time m Paris : the hydrogen ob- 
tained is very richly carburetted, and is better than that from coal for illumi- 
nating purposes. 

There are numerous indications that the stores of peat found in almost every 
township, the accumulations of past ages, will prove a rich inheritance to us 
and our children. 

From " The Hartford Press." 

The fuel question is already a serious one in manufacturing New England 
which requires a greater supply for purposes of warmth, and for its thousands 
of engines, than almost any other part of the country. Our wood has lorg 
been scarce and costly; and we are so far from the great coal-beds as to make 
that material expensive. Attention has lately been directed to peat as a substi- 
tute for wood and coal, and, it is believed, with favorable results. A process 
has been discovered by which peat can be converted into a dry solid substance, 
in great quantities, at a moderate cost. The fuel so produced burns readily, 
gives a mellow but intense heat, is most agreeable for burning in the open 
grate, and is especially adapted to furnaces for generating steam. 

From " The Madison ("Wis.) State Journal." 

The recent invention of machinery for pressing peat, in connection with 
the increasing scarcity of fuel in the West, and the exorbitant prices of 
wood and coal, has attracted attention anew to the extensive peat-beds near 
this city. 

The subject of manufacturing fuel from this material was discussed quite 
prominently some ten years ago among our citizens; but the comparative 
cheapness of wood at that time, and the absence of any perfected machinery 



292 APPENDIX. 

for reducing it to proper form, as well as the financial revulsion which shortly 
followed, led to a postponement of the project. 

A further investigation of the qualities of this peat, of the extent of the 
deposit, and of the practicability of cheaply manufacturing- from it an article 
of fuel equal in heating-power to the best coal, induces the belief that it will 
speedily become a source of immense profit to the fortunate proprietor, and 
of great advantage to the city and adjacent country. It will also, when 
worked into convenient compass for transportation, constitute an important 
article of export to the neighboring cities with which we have railroad con- 
nections. 

We recently witnessed some experiments with it, as an article of fuel in a 
common wood-stove. The peat used was unpressed. The specimens burned 
with a flame clear and brilliant as seasoned maple or hickory, and produced 
no unpleasant odor like that of coal. From the trial we saw made of it, we 
conclude that it will make a most desirable article of fuel; and we trust the 
day is not distant when it will be made available, and this market supplied 
with it. If we are not mistaken, Colonel Slaughter, in opening this peat- 
bed, will, if he does not " strike oil," find a source of wealth not less valuable 
and remunerative. . 

Prom " The Madison ("Wis.) Patriot." 

We feel an interest, in common with our people, in keeping the subject of 
Wisconsin peat before the public, that it may so interest the attention of cap- 
italists as to insure its more complete development, which we believe to be all 
that is necessary to bring it into general use, and prove it a source of very 
great benefit to our people. The middle, southern, and some of the western 
counties of our State, are but sparsely timbered; and the very limited quantity 
of timber is growing less every year, until the scarcity and price of fuel have 
become a question of serious inquiry with the people. 

Peat or coal must be used as a substitute, — the latter we have not, nor can 
it be had, only at a heavy cost; butpea£ we have in abundance, and within our 
own limits. To this we must sooner or Liter resort, and the sooner the better 
for those who are compelled to pay the present high prices of wood. 

The peat-beds near this city will, when developed, furnish an abundance of 
cheap fuel; and, as it is inexhaustible in quantity, its use will prove a source 
of wealth, not only to the enterprising proprietors, but to the country. 

We have seen the peat tried, and find it an excellent substitute for coal. It 
has been used in our press-room furnace in driving our engine, and found equal 
to the best coal. We have therefore no hesitation in bearing witness to the 
good qualities of the peat, having used it; and unite most cordially in the gen- 
eral wish, that this rich mine of wealth may be speedily developed, and the 
peat brought within the reach of those who would so readily avail themselves 
of its use. Our wood lands are principally oak openings, and the wood is 
rapidly disappearing. The price is now from seven to eight dollars per cord. 
Dr. Hayes, of Boston, the first analytic chemist in our country, pronounces 
this peat equal to good oak-wood fuel, and for gas equal to the best eannel 
coal. Many experiments have been made with it in this neighborhood for 
fuel by our most judicious men, and their accounts correspond with Dr. 
Hayes's analysis. It must be of great value to the proprietors, as well as 
benefit to the country. 

From " The Milwaukee Sentinel." 

Upon a recent visit to Madison, we were shown by Mr. Ilough, County Sur- 
\cyor, a plat of the peat-bog lying six miles west of that town, and immediate- 



APPENDIX. 293 

ly upon the Madison and Milwaukee Railroad. In company with an intelligent 
Irishman, who informed us that, in density and endurance it was far superior 
to the Irish peat (not so inflammable, nor vested with the peculiar odor in 
burning-), we instituted some experiments; in the first place by burning- in a 
blacksmith's forge, where it gave out a steady, brilliant heat, though not as in- 
tense as that of bituminous coal, yet heating iron readily. We placed a peck 
of it with an equal amount of Briar Hill Coal in the open coal grate, and found 
it not only to outlast the coal, but to give a far preferable fire; quietly, pleas- 
antly, not snappishly inclined, and free from the odious smoke and soot of coal, 
which will be a great desideratum to neat housekeepers. 

The owners are making arrangements to work the beds extensively during 
the next season ; and we predict for it a large sale, even within our own city, 
should its cost be even greater than coal, solely on account of its cleanliness. 
My credulity was heavily taxed while at Madison, through the stories told of 
its comparative value with wood in generating steam, at a steam saw-mill in 
the neighborhood of the beds j but I must confess myself astonished at my own 
experiments, proving it of far more value than I deemed possible, and worth 
not less than $1,000,000 to the fortunate owners, should no other extensive 
beds be discovered to mar its value. Surely such unheard of " diggings " 
ought to stimulate other explorations. 

From "The Lewiston (Me.) Journal." 

N. W. Farwell, Esq., has used peat in his house and under the boilers in 
his bleachery. He began his experiments last year, and, though the peat is 
not of the best quality, yet it proves to be so valuable that he will cut a 
thousand cords the present season. He regards it quite equal to charcoal. 
It makes a cheerful fire, and lights a room better than wood: its smoke does 
not irritate the eyes, nor does it obstruct respiration. It can also be used for 
many manufacturing purposes. 

From "The Brunswick (Me.) Telegraph." 

The introduction of peat is no mere fancy, but a subject of grave impor- 
tance, especially in these times of exorbitant prices for coal, and unreasonable 
prices for wood. The " Journal " speaks of its making a cheerful fire. True ; 
and one of our most cherished recollections is that of an old farmhouse in 
Byfield, Essex County, Mass., the residence of a grandfather. The kitchen 
fireplace was large enough to admit an ox-cart; and in that same fireplace 
always blazed in winter, a peat-fire, giving both light and heat. Beside it we 
have sat for hours, watching the roasting of potatoes, cracking of nuts, drink- 
ing of cider, and maliciously (little rascal that we were) eying the young ras- 
cals who were courting the girls, our respected aunts. Those were glorious 
times ; and we have ever since had a fondness for peat as an article of fuel. The 
fires of love never burn dimly beside it. 

From " The Newport (R. I.) News." 

We have received from the publishers " Facts about Peat." The work is 
deserving of more than passing notice. No subject is of wider interest to the 
whole family of man than that of fuel ; and its high price in this country for 
some time past, gives the subject a peculiar interest to us in America. 

Hitherto the world has been dependent upon wood and the different kinds of 
mineral coal. It has not been a generally recognized fact that there exists 
another article, formed of wood-deposits like coal, but of a much more recent 
formation, and known by the name of peat, which is destined to be brought 



294 APPENDIX. 

into an important competition with its two rivals, wood and coal. Many 
people in our own community, we will venture to say, never saw a specimen 
of it, and have scarcely heard of it. 

Its supply is said to be abundant along- the lines of our railroads, and in the 
vicinity of our machine-shops and founderies hi all parts of the country where 
there is woodland. As the article of fuel is one of great expense in our domes- 
tic economy, this subject cannot fail to interest all ; and the introduction of a 
new, cheap, and abundant article of fuel, to be dug out at our own doors, as it 
were, i§ an important matter. We commend this work, and the subject upon 
which it treats, to the attention of all. 

From " The Fall River News." 

We consider this a valuable work, especially at the present time, when coal 
fs almost beyond the reach of the laboring classes. Hitherto we have been 
entirely dependent upon wood and coal, while almost every township has peat- 
beds sufficient to furnish the inhabitants with a fuel, in every respect, when 
properly prepared, equal, if not superior, to either. We cheerfully commend 
this book to the attention of all ; for the whole community are interested in the 
subject on which it treats. 

From " The Nantucket Inquirer.' ' 

The peat-beds on Nantucket and the adjacent islands are estimated at six 
hundred and fifty acres, from one to fourteen feet in thickness. The rapid 
destruction of our forests, and the constantly increasing price of wood, have 
now brought the article of peat to the notice of manufacturers and railroad 
companies, and will no doubt stimulate some enterprising Yankee to get up a 
machine that will press the peat dry, as it is taken from the beds, and turn it 
out in the shape and consistence of bricks. Then will our peat lands prove to 
be a mine of wealth to the owners. 

From " The Biddeford (Me.) Journal." 

The subject is beginning to excite considerable attention, not only on account 
of the fears of a growing scarcity of wood, its high price, and also that of coal, 
but because it forms one of the products of industry, which, when perfected 
from its raw state, forms, like mines of iron, lead, copper, and silver, great 
wealth to a nation. 

From "The Brooklyn Union." 

Peat. — A New PROCESS. — Through the benignity of the Creator, our 
country is richly provided with the means of counteracting the strikes of 
miners, combinations of dealers, and quarrels of corporations, which so often 
distract the coal market, and make fuel scarce and dear. In all directions there 
arc to be found immense beds of peat, which is an excellent fuel for many pur- 
poses, even in its crude state. And we arc assured that a very ingenious and 
simple process has been discovered, by which the chief inconveniences in the 
use of crude peat arc removed, and a substance produced which is in some 
respects preferable to anthracite. 

The process, which is patented, requires about two weeks to make the 

article lit for use, and then it, is in as good shape for handling and tranporta- 
tion as coke 1 . 

In this shape, it is found to be almost pure charcoal, easily lighted, burning 
with a clear lire, producing very little smoke, and leaving only a small resid- 
uum of ashes. The ashes are equal to those of wood for fertilizing purposes. 
The prepared peat has been used for raising steam, for wire-drawing, for 



APPENDIX. 295 

brass-working-, and for cooking* and heating- rooms; and for all these purposes 
it has been highly approved by good judg-es. If we are correctly informed, the 
company profess to be able to furnish fuel equivalent to a ton of anthracite for 
five dollars. 

The development of such a source of wealth, and of general relief, lying all 
around in lands that are otherwise utterly valueless, will add at once to the 
general resources of the country, and to the means of comfort and life of all 
classes of society. If this new method is what it is represented to be, — of 
which we have satisfactory evidence, — we earnestly hope it may attract the 
attention of capitalists and business men without delay. 

The high price of coal, the scarcity of wood, and the necessity for an abun- 
dant and consequently cheap article for fuel, have turned the attention of several 
of our own citizens to the peat which is found to a very considerable extent on 
Long Island. In other parts of the Eastern States, the interest of the people 
is already thoroughly aroused on the subject; and, if we are correctly informed, 
a company is established in Boston which is experimenting with peat, and has 
met with some very favorable results. 

There is abundance of peat on Long Island, within reach of this city; and the 
season is not yet too far advanced for cutting and drying it for use in its natural 
shape. Perhaps there is now hardly time enough to get up establishments for 
its improved preparation this season, as some machinery is required to be set 
up. And yet, we believe, if the matter would be taken hold of at once, with a 
few thousand dollars of capital, and a moderate share of judgment and energy, 
something valuable might be accomplished even this year, and we should at 
least be in good readiness for another season. 

From the same paper. 

More about Peat. — The use of peat for fuel is but little known in this 
country; but it has become necessary to resort to it as a substitute for coal, as 
a remedy against strikes, extortion, and monopoly. If the experiments now 
in progress to consolidate the crude peat, so as to make it capable of being 
handled and transported without crumbling, and so that it will burn clear like 
coal, are successful, it will prove a formidable rival for anthracite itself. It is 
believed that deposits of peat suitable for fuel are scattered all over the North- 
ern States in such abundance as would supply a very considerable part of the 
demand for fuel, and at a price much below that of anthracite, because it lies 
on the surface of the ground, is procured with very little labor, and, being 
found in almost every neighborhood, would make a great saving in the cost of 
transportation. 

The great desideratum has been to contrive a process by which it can be put 
in merchantable shape at a cost not inconsistent Avith its value for fuel. Most 
of the numerous experiments, both in this country and in Europe, have resulted 
in nothing, either because they failed to effect the object, or that they were too 
expensive in working. A large part of the contrivances looked to the appli- 
cation of powerful pressure to solidify the peat into blocks convenient both for 
handling and for use; but powerful pressure is not only expensive: it does 
not effect the object. Peat is so porous and elastic, that it will not give up 
either its moisture or air by pressure. 

A company in Boston have proceeded on a different and quite novel principle, 
and have at length completed the invention of a simple and rational process, by 
which crude peat, as it is taken from its bed, can be converted into a solid, dry 
fuel, in good shape, in large quantities, and at a moderate cost. The machinery 
required is simple, and not too expensive for use, and can be easily set up and 
rnn by the side of the peat-bed. wherever a small yard can be levelled for 



296 APPENDIX. 

drying it in the open air. They are now prepared to furnish their machines at 
reasonable prices, with a guaranty that they will work as represented The 
machine receives the crude peat as taken from the bog, and delivers it, in a 
very few minutes, condensed, and formed into blocks of any desired form, 
ready to be dried in the open air, and with but small cost for manual labor. 
Its tenacity for water is so far changed, that it dries in a small part of the time 
required for curing the ordinary peat. 

We have seen specimens of the peat condensed by this process, and are 
acquainted with the principle on which the machine works, and think there 
is no reason to doubt its efficiency. The personal character of the principal 
managers is fitted to inspire confidence that they would not come before the 
public unless they had got a good thing, calculated to be a general benefit. 
Indeed, their method may fairly claim to be not only the best, but the only 
one, so far as is known, in this country, that is at once effectual, cheap, and 
rapid. They are the pioneers of the present movement in favor of the use of 
peat, having been engaged for several years in their experiments and inquiries. 
Their actuary, Mr. T. H. Leavitt, has published a pamphlet of a hundred and 
eighteen pages, containing more information — historical, scientific, and prac- 
tical — about peat, we venture to say, than any other man in the country is 
possessed of. And his perseverance is well entitled to the success which seems 
about to be realized. 

Those who wish to become thoroughly informed should procure this pamph- 
let ; and those who would transact business with the company, should address 
the agents, Leavitt & Hunnevvell, 49 Congress Street, Boston. 

From " The Lowell Journal." 

This is a good-looking pamphlet of a hundred and sixty-eight pages, giving 
us all the information upon the subject of peat that the most laborious and 
extensive research can possibly furnish. 

The subject of fuel is one in which all of us are directly interested. Wood 
and coal, their different varieties and properties, are tolerably well understood; 
but peat, to a considerable extent, among us, is a new article; and even those 
who have used it in its crude state do not realize the extent to which it might 
be used, especially for manufacturing purposes, if properly prepared, and 
placed in the market. 

From " The Prairie Farmer," Chicago, 111. 

This subject is attracting much attention at various points, on account of the 
scarcity and high price of fuel. 

From " The Northern Farmer," Fond du Lac, "Wis. 

We have received from Messrs. Leavitt & llunnewell, of Boston, Mass., a 
pamphlet on the preparation and uses of peat. With their improved method 
of preparing it, it bids fair to become of great value to our State, as we have, 
no doubt, abundance of it here. It may eventually till up the greatest de- 
ficiency of our State, by furnishing an article equal to eoal for fuel and smelt- 
ing purposes. 

From " The Kenosha (Wis.) Telegraph." 

A Goon Tiiinc;. — Madison, in this State, and Chicago, 111., have boon boast- 
ing for some time past of having in their Immediate vicinity large beds of peat, 
which are capable of being turned to good account for fuel for domestic pur- 
poses, but more especially for mechanical purposes. Well, Kenosha cannot 



APPENDIX. 297 

afford to be behindhand in any of these great natural resources ; so she also 
boasts of her inexhaustible peat-beds. 

Our fellow-citizen, Harvey Durkee, informs us that he has, on his farm, about 
two and a half miles from the city, a deposit of peat, which has been pro- 
nounced, by those qualified to judge, to be of the very best quality of that 
article. Old men who have used peat most of their lives, in Ireland, declare 
this to be in every respect equal to the best that country produces. This bed 
is three fourths of a mile in length, twenty rods wide, and ten feet in depth. 
Mr. Durkee has dried and tried some of this peat, and finds that it burns freely, 
makes a very hot fire, and leaves no residuum but a small amount of white 
ashes. He put a hodful of the prepared peat into his coal stove, and it burned 
as long, and gave out as much heat, as the best quality of hard lump coal. 
With the proper facilities for cutting and preparing the peat for use, we under- 
stand it can be furnished, probably, for $8 per ton; and one ton of the peat will 
go as far, and make as much heat, as two tons of the best Lehigh coal, for all 
mechanical purposes. 

Now, if anybody or any company wish to start a woollen fac'x>ry, or a cotton 
factory even, here is the material for the necessary fuel, so cheap as to throw 
the advantages of water-power into the shade. Since Mr. Durkee proved the 
qualities of this peat, we understand he is decidedly in favor of starting both a 
woollen and cotton factory, confident that no other locality in the State presents 
so many advantages for such manufactures. 

From " The Brunswick (Me.) Telegraph." 

Peat was first discovered in this town by Henry Putnam, Esq., about fifty 
years since, in the swamps east of Stetson Street. Several persons were much 
excited about it as a valuable discovery; but nobody was disposed to go into a 
peat speculation. I do not think, in the usual manner of cutting and drying, it 
can ever become a popular fuel. The difficulty of getting it thoroughly dry, 
would, in our uncertain climate, be a serious objection; but if it can be cheaply 
manufactured into neat, compact, solid blocks, I see no reason why it should 
not compete successfully with coal and wood. 

This matter interests every one who has to buy a cord of wood. The article 
is abundant in this town : I presume all our swamps are underlaid with it. 
There is a large tract intersected by the McKeen Road, which drains into Mere 
Brook ; the Duck Pond Swamp is another large deposit ; the Dunning Swamp 
on Union and Pleasant Streets; another lies east of Federal Street ; and another 
still farther east, extending from near the river, at the place formerly occupied 
by Mr. Bow, down to Humphrey's Mills; and there are doubtless many other 
localities in the town. N. S. 

From "The Hingham Journal." 

The use of peat as fuel is now attracting, generally, the attention of railroad 
men, manufacturers, and others ; and, in this view, the issue of the pamphlet 
is timely. The treatise is prepared with care, and embodies much useful 
knowledge. 

From " The Vermont "Watchman." 

Facts about Peat as an Article of Fuel. — A well-timed and well- 
executed compilation of important facts. We never knew of any use of peat 
for fuel in Vermont, wood having been, and in some portions of the State still 
being, very abundant. There are regions in the State, however, where peat 
will be more economical than wood or coal ; and we shall be glad to sec it 
tried. Peat abounds in the State, from mountain tops to valley swamps ; and 



298 APPENDIX. 

doubtless in many places it is of sufficient depth and solidity for fuel, '[fhis 
book describes the article, the mode of cutting- and curing-, and its uses. For 
many purposes, good peat is at least equal to wood, and for some superior ; 
whxle its use will drain swamps, and turn them to agricultural account, and 
prevent that denuding of the hills, of the woods, which is fast robbing us of 
water springs, and exposing the hills to be washed clean of the most valuable 
soil, 'tnd, in time, to become as ugly and sterile as the hills in the oldest parts 
of Maryland now are. Of all men, the farmers should turn their attention 
to peat, for the preservation of their best forests for more valuable uses 
than fuel. 

From "The Pawtucket (K. I.) Gazette." 

No doubt can be entertained by those who have even a limited knowledge 
of peat, that it can be advantageously used for fuel ; but it has thus far re- 
ceived but very little attention in this country. Mr. Leavitt's facts and 
remarks throw a great amount of light upon the subject, and they ought to 
have a wide circulation. "We have an abundance of peat ; and the pamphlet 
before us tells us of its importance as an article of fuel, and how to prepare 
and use it. 

From " The Lowell Citizen." 

In late years, peat has come to be extensively used, not only for fuel, but as 
a source of motive-power, for the manufacture of gas, paper, gunpowder, and 
even for building and ornamental work. The questions of its supply, prepa- 
ration, and most economical use, are of high interest ; and this pamphlet em- 
bodies much needed information, which will aid in their solution. 

From " The Essex County Mercury," Salem, Mass. 

Peat has long been used to a considerable extent for fuel in different parts 
of Essex County ; and not a few of the elder portion of our readers can well 
remember when it was much used in Salem. At the present prices of coal and 
wood, peat is much to be preferred to either of them, for most uses. 

From " The Providence Daily Press." 

" Facts about Peat " arc not only interesting, but of the highest value. The 
company who have undertaken to develop the value of peat ought to be en- 
couraged by all who have money to invest in new and probably remunerative 
channels of trade or manufactures. For ourselves we have often wondered 
how little use was made of peat. 

The glowing heat and cheerful light of a peat-fire, are the very ultimata of a 
social evening; and our recollections of such a lire on the hearth at Johnny 
Campbell's, at the head of Loch Iiannoch, are of the pleasantest character; so 
pleasant, indeed, that deprived of the sight of the lire, and the smell of the 
reek, we have even endeavored at times to find an insufficient consolation in tho 
taste of the peat-reek in the genuine Gleulivit. 

From " The Lawrence Sentinel." 

There can be very little doubt of the utility of the great peat deposits in this 
Commonwealth, to which public .attention has hut to he rightly directed, to 

enhance greatly its value; and this work ('• Facts about Feat ") will be found 
to possess a permanent value. 



APPENDIX. 299 

From " The "Waltham (Mass.) Sentinel." 

The peat-bogs about us are represented to contain a large percentage of bitu- 
minous matter; and, when the peat is subjected to great pressure, it becomes a 
species of bituminous coal. Peat is said to be the last stage of vegetable matter 
before changing to coal. 

If the working of the peat-bogs will save our woods, which are being cut 
down in such haste, and with so little of consideration, then we hope the at- 
tention of the people will soon be turned to this matter. 

From "The Portland Advertiser." 

We do not know how extensively this pamphlet has been circulated; !mt 
we are persuaded that its perusal by every consumer in New England would be 
productive of great good, and excite a new enterprise throughout the New 
England States. 

From " The Middlesex Journal," Lowell, Mass. 

Peat, as an article of fuel, has long been known; but it has not been so 
extensively used as its merits would warrant. The attention of intelligent 
men in manufacturing and railroad circles has, however, recently been turned 
to the subject ; and we may hope, ere long, that it will take its proper place in 
the household, the manufactory, and on the railroad. 

With coal at $16 and $17 per ton, the public have a deep interest in any 
thing which promises to render fuel more abundant and cheap. 

In many localities in New England, and throughout the country, the earth 
is well stored with peat, which promises to add much to the wealth of those 
farms and districts of country where it is found. 

From " The Boston Traveller." 

Facts about Peat. — It is a thorough production; the author proceeding 
exhaustively, and arranging his abundant matter in a manner that renders the 
task of following him easy and profitable. He has mastered his subject, and 
evidently has neglected nothing that is calculated to illustrate it, and to press 
useful facts on the mind of the inquirer. 

Various, minute, and copious in its facts, and showing how valuable is peat 
as an article of fuel, this work must have a great effect in directing attention 
to a neglected agent for the production of heat ; one which Providence has 
placed most freely at the command of man, and which ought to be made to 
enter very largely into human consumption. 

Mr. Leavitt is literally correct when he says, that the substance of which 
he treats so well " is of sufficient importance to command earnest attention, 
not only from the business man, on the score of its application to domestic 
purposes, manufactures, and the arts, but from the philanthropist, in view of 
the relief it may be made to afford as one of the necessaries of life." 

It needs only that the value of peat should be understood to bring it into 
general use, to the great relief of all interests. 

From " The Scientific American." 

In peat we shall find an economical substitute for coal at its present prices 
and even at rates much below ; for the marketing of the former 
substance, or preparation of it so as to render it available, must certainly 
cost far less than coal. 

No shafts have to be sunk, no extensive and costly system of engineering 



300 APPENDIX. 

and surveying are needed ; and beyond the expense of the mach mery for con- 
densing it, little seems to be required to utilize the deposit with which Nature 
has covered large tracts of land in this country. 
The testimony of scientific men is freely given as to its value. 

From " The Syracuse Journal." 

Dr. R is making arrangements to prepare his peat for market. Now let 

us estimate the quantity upon the fifteen acres. Fifteen acres, at an average 
depth of eight feet, will produce 40,836 cords. Estimating a cord of peat to be 
worth a cord and a half of hard wood, there will be equal in value to 54,448 
cords of hard wood. Estimating wood at six dollars a cord, the total value of 
this peat-bed, when marketed, will be $326,688. Allowing sixty-six and tw? 
thirds per cent, cost for preparing and transporting it to market (which is a 
large allowance), and there will remain a net profit of $108,896. 

Peat emits a considerable flame — about between hard coal and hard wood; 
it leaves no cinders to sift; it burns equally well in a coal-stove, wood-stove, or 
fireplace, and makes a very pleasant fire. 

From " The New York Evening Post." 

The high prices of coal are having an effect which will soon be turned to the 
advantage of the community. Already they have brought into existence several 
enterprises, which, in a few months, will produce a large supply of fuel from 
the peat deposits of this country ; and it will be likely to come into close com- 
petition with the fuel from the coal mines. 

The probability of continued high prices, together with the favorable results 
of recent experiments with peat, and new discoveries of it in quantities, have 
called the attention of many business men to this substance, as a new source of 
supply. 

The burning or heating properties of the best peat are nearly equal to those 
of anthracite coal. 

There are many peat-beds in this State. A trial of it is making at the Ameri- 
can Institute Fair against coal, with satisfactory results. 

Great interest is felt by many citizens to whose knowledge these facts have 
come, and they are confident that a material change will eventually take place 
in regard to the fuel supply of the country. The tendency will be, in any 
event, to protect the public from speculations and monopolies in coal. 

From " The American Artisan." 

The very high price which coal has lately reached in this country has led some 
enterprising capitalists to turn their attention to the subject of obtaining sup- 
plies of peat for fuel. 

There are in the United States, large quantities of this valuable material. In 
Western New York and on Long Island there arc extensive beds ; and there is 
little doubt that in and near the neighborhoods where it is found it may be made 
to serve as an economical substitute for coal, even when that is at a much lower 
price than at present. 

From " The Lookport (N. Y.) Daily Union." 

The rapid advance in the price of wood and coal within the past few years, 
and the near approach of the time when wood, on account of its scarcity, shall 
(•case tO be generally used as fuel, have led many to Investigate the practicabil- 
ity of bringing into use as a substitute., peat, which was known to be in large 
quantities in various parts of the couutry. It was found to be impracticable to 



APPENDIX. 301 

t>e used as fuel in its natural state, on account of the foreign matter, and its 
unwieldmess and bulk; being thus impossible to make it a mercantile commod- 
ity, and difficult and unhandy to use. Many experiments have been tried by 
which the foreign matter could be separated, and the peat put in some neat and 
compact form, thus making it easy to handle. More or less success has attended 
the various attempts ; and in some parts of the country it is rapidly being 
brought into use. 

In this country, we have inexhaustible beds of peat; and if this experiment 
is the success that is hoped, we need no longer tremble as we see our forests rap- 
idly falling away, or sigh when we read of a strike in a coal mine. It is estimated 
that the cost of manufacturing will be one dollar per ton. All that it will 
bring over three dollars will go to the manufacturer as a profit and interest on 
the capital invested in the bed. Prices, however, regulate themselves in accord- 
ance with the demand ; but it is hardly probable, with all the peat-beds in the 
country producing fuel, that wood and coal can lord it much longer in their 
present manner. One ton of this peat is estimated to burn as long as a ton of 
coal or two cords of wood. The smoke from it is much like that from hickory 
wood — thin and blue; there appeared to be no unpleasant odor; and the 
ashes are not troublesome, like coal-ashes. In fact, there appears to be no 
reason why, if it can be put in merchantable form, that it should not become 
pur staple article of fuel. 

The prospect of such a revolution in fuel will undoubtedly interest the com- 
munity at large. 

From " The Springfield (Mass.) Bepublican." 

The high price of coal and wood is very naturally turning the attention of the 
public to the vast beds of peat which exist in various parts of the country, with 
the hope of finding in them the much-desired cheaper fuel. In old countries, 
peat has long been used as an article of fuel, especially among the poorer classes, 
who have, in fact, known nothing else. But in this comparatively new coun- 
try, where hitherto both wood and coal have been abundant and cheap, our 
peat-beds have, for the most part, been allowed to lie unmolested, as the product 
could not be taken out* and prepared for market at a cost low enough to make it 
any object to bring it into competition with other articles of fuel. 

But with ingenuity, stimulated by the present high prices, the problem of 
how to prepare peat for market at a reasonable cost bids fair to be speedily 
solved, if, indeed, it is not already satisfactorily answered. Of the value of 
peat, properly prepared, as an article of fuel, there is no question. Besides its 
worth for domestic purposes, in which the majority of people are most inter- 
ested, it is unrivalled by any other substance for raising steam, and has lately 
been tried with marked success in the locomotives of the New York Central 
Railroad. Being free from sulphur, peat is also well adapted for the reduction 
of ores ; and in making the best iron, and in the finer processes of making iron and 
steel, it is equal to wood-charcoal; and, when charred, it is pronounced better 
for welding purposes than charcoal itself; while some kinds of peat are equal 
to the best bituminous coal for making gas. 

At present, the great bulk of peat would make the item of freight a large 
one if it was transported any great distance. But we do not see why, already, 
peat cannot be furnished to those who live near the beds, at a cost much less 
than coal, to which it is said to be equal, ton for ton, for many purposes. La- 
bor and freight are, of course, the principal items in the cost of peat; and, as 
soon as quick and cheap methods of extraction and condensation are really dis- 
covered, there will be a large use of peat, and some of the profits that now go 
into the pockets of owners of coal mines will be transferred to th 2 proprietors 
of peat-beds. 



302 APPENDIX. 

It may not be generally known ^that there are almost inexhaustible peat 
deposits within a few miles of this city. Mr. Reuben Brooks, of West Spring- 
field, owns a large peat-bog, and there are others in West Springfield and other 
towns in this viciuity. Mr. Brooks has long used peat in his own family with 
satisfactory results, burning it in a common coal grate, where it gives forth a 
blaze like wood, and a heat much softer and pleasanter than that from the com- 
mon anthracite or even bituminous coals. We have no means of knowing how 
the price of it delivered would compare with the price of other kinds of fuel ; 
but peat is going to be the fashion before many years, and Springfield is to be 
congratulated on having a large supply close at hand. 

From " The American Railway Times." 

f 2 " eam Fuel. — Wherever the main source of artificial motion may lie 
hidden away, awaitiug ultimate development, whether in air, or in water, or 
in the heat of the earth itself, matters less to the practical man than to the 
philosopher. 

Coal has long been the main source from which that power has been ob- 
tained. How much longer it may continue so to be is uncertain, not so much 
from any immediate probability of failure in the supply, as that, of late, other 
substances have been utilized which hitherto were comparatively unknown, or 
considered inapplicable to the purpose of steam generation. It becomes us to 
consider, not only how to economize that supply, which we can at present call 
our own, but how to produce a fuel which shall satisfactorily occupy its posi- 
tion as well now as when our coal-fields cease to yield. 

The two main sources from which the present generation may expect to 
derive practical benefit, and to which we may look for aid in the economizing 
of our coal, are peat and petroleum. 

The deposits of peat in Great Britain and Ireland occupy an area of about six 
million acres. The thickness of peat varies in different localities, from two to 
forty or fifty feet. Assuming the average thickness to be only twelve feet, an 
acre would yield about 3500 tons of dried peat; consequently the aggregate 
estimated acreage in this country would produce twenty-one thousand million 
tons of dried peat, equal to the supply of twenty-one million tons per annum 
for a thousand years. It cannot be supposed that these enormous masses of 
vegetable matter were created to be either useless or noxious. Nor is it a mat- 
ter for wonder that attention has often been directed in this country, and in 
others where similar deposits exist, to the means of utilizing the peat, and re- 
claiming the land which it covers. 

The value of peat, when properly dried, is well known and admitted, both 
for domestic fuel and for generating steam ; and charcoal properly made from 
such peat is, in all respects, equal, if not superior, to wood-charcoal. When 
dug from the bog, peat generally contains from fifty to seventy-five per cent, 
of water. 

The inference drawn from practical experience is, that, to insure commercial 
success in utilizing peat, the operation must be inexpensive and expeditions, 
costly machinery being avoided. 

From four to live tons of peat, as taken from the bog, are required to make 
one ton of dry condensed peat. The cost varies in different localities; but it 
may be safely assumed that the average cost will not exceed that of coal at the 
pit'B mouth. Peat thus prepared bums very freely, will stand a powerful 
blast, emits great, heat, is smokeless, and produces less ash than the average 
Of COal or coke. It, is impervious to water, improves by keeping, and is incapa- 
ble of self ignition. From two and a half to three tons of prepared peat will 
make one ton of excellent charcoal, according to the degree of carbonization 
required. 

20 



306 APPENDIX. 

The general heating power of the condensed peat has been proved to be very 
superior to that of coal ; and, in fact, this article appears to be well adapted as 
a fuel for steam-engines, whether marine, stationary, or locomotive. Its use 
has been found to effect a saving of fifty per cent, in time in generating steam, 
and it will do double duty as compared with coal. The absence of smoke and 
clinkers, and the preservation of furnace-bars and boilers from the destructive 
effects of sulphur from coal, are additional and important advantages. 

The locomotive engineers of three railways in Ireland united 4p carry out a 
practical trial of the condensed peat on the Belfast and Northern Counties 
Railway, with the view of testing its qualities as a fuel for locomotives. The 
trip was made from Carrick Junction to Ballymena, a distance of twenty-seven 
miles. During the whole of the journey there was an excess of steam, al- 
though the fire-door was kept continually open, and the damper down, for the 
greater portion of the distance. The pressure at starting was a hundred 
pounds per square inch. The commencement of the journey was up an incline 
of one in eighty, four miles long, and with double curves; while ascending 
the incline, the pressure rose to a hundred and ten pounds, and afterwards to a 
hundred and twenty pounds ; and this with the fire-door open. The speed was 
about forty miles an hour. While on the way, the fuel emitted no smoke, and 
very little when at stations. The fire-box was examined at Ballymena, and a 
very small portion of clinker was found. The smoke-box was perfectly free 
from cinders or dust, — a proof that the fuel had stood the blast exceedingly 
well ; and it is the recorded opinion of the experimenters that the condensed 
peat was in every respect well adapted as a fuel for locomotive purposes. 

In the face of such results as these, bearing the testimony they do to the 
fitness of properly prepared peat as a steam-fuel, the wonder is that it has not 
been generally brought into use. One reason why it has not, may lie in the 
limited quantity manufactured for steam purposes, the greater value of peat 
lying at present in its conversion into charcoal for smelting, for which purpose 
it is used in considerable quantities with the best results. Another cause for 
its non-adoption may be the hesitancy to depart from the old beaten track, 
which so often stops the way of improvement. The success of the practical 
trials it has undergone ought to be sufficient to commend its further use. No 
serious alterations to machinery are involved in its adoption, the only thing 
necessary being a reduction of space between the fire-bars to insure perfect 
combustion. 

Such a substitute for coal or coke deserves attention. The comparative ab- 
sence of smoke, and the total absence of all sulphurous vapors, ought to be a 
sufficient inducement, independently of the economy effected. 

The question of the use of peat in locomotives is not a new one. About 
twenty years since Lord Willoughby d'Fresby had some tried in the Hesperus 
Locomotive on the Great Western Railway. This engine was of Hawthorn's 
patent return-tube construction, and required about one third more peat than 
coke, with equal drafts. Mr. Vignoles has also interested himself in the 
same direction. Opposite opinions, however, have always existed as to the 
economical merits of peat; but it may yet prove an efficient substitute for coal 
in all Its varied uses. 

From '< The Waltham Sentinel." 
There is more in peat than is dreamed of in most men's philosophy. 



FACTS ABOUT FEAT 



OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

" An elaborate pamphlet, designed to show the economy of peat as a substi- 
tute for wood and coal, especially where fuel is required in large quantities. 
To this end. Mr. Leavitt has prepared an exhaustive statement of the history 
and properties of peat, the localities of peat-beds, the methods of preparation 
and manufacture, its applicability to the various arts, as well as to the produc- 
tion of heat, and other incidental matters of practical importance." — Worcester 
Spy. 

" It will be found especially interesting to manufacturers and railroad man- 
agers." — Hartford Courant. 

1 ' It is full of information as to the value of peat, and its whereabouts." — 
Bridgeport Farmer. 

" Mr. Leavitt shows conclusively, that peat is equally as good as coal, and for 
many purposes unquestionably superior, especially for generating steam, and 
for the manufacture of iron, steel, and other metals." — Cheshire Republican. 

" The treatise is prepared with care, and embodies much useful information. 
The use of peat is now attracting, generally, the attention of railroad men, man- 
ufacturers, and others; and, in this view, the issue of the pamphlet is timely." 
— Roxbury Journal. 

" An octavo pamphlet of 120 pages, elegantly printed, compiled by T. H. 
Leavitt, Esq. It is a thorough production, the author proceeding exhaustively, 
and arranging his abundant matter in a manner that renders the task of follow- 
ing him easy and profitable. He has mastered his subject, and evidently has 
neglected nothing that is calculated to illustrate it, and to press useful facts on 
the mind of the inquirer. Various, minute, and copious in its facts, and show- 
ing how valuable is peat as an article of fuel, this work must have a great ef- 
fect in directing attention to a neglected agent for the production of heat, one 
which Providence lias placed most freely at the command of man, and which 
ought to be made to enter very largely into human consumption. Mr. Leavitt 
Ifl literally correct, when he says that the substance of which he treats so well 
'is of sufficient importance to command earnest attention, not only from the 
business man, on the score of its application to domestic purposes, manufac- 
tures, and the arts, but from the philanthropist, in view ol" the relief it may be 
made to afford as one of the necessaries of life. 1 Mr. LeavitTs work should he 
read by all, as it is full Of information, and it needs only that the value of peat 

should be understood, to bring it Into general use. to the great relief ot all 

Interests.' 1 — Boston Traveller* 

(Sio 



APPENDIX. 315 

" The pamphlet is full of most interesting facts on the subject." — Hartford 
Press. 

" Replete with interesting and instructive 'Facts,' demonstrating that abun- 
dant sources of supply are to be found in all the New England States, and its 
economy over wood and coal. We are persuaded its perusal by every consumer 
in New England would be productive of great good, and excite a new enterprise 
throughout the New England States." — Portland Advertiser. 

" We would recommend any one whose pockets are interested to the amount 
of $25 for fuel, to get the book and read it." — Brunswick, Me., Telegraph. 

"A well-timed and well-executed compilation of important facts. Of all men, 
farmers should turn their attention to peat for the preservation of their best 
forests for more valuable uses than fuel." — Vermont Watchman. 

il The development of such a source of wealth and of general relief, lying all 
around, in lands that are otherwise utterly valueless, will add at once to the 
general resources of the country, and to the means of comfort and life of all 
classes of society. If this new method is what it is represented to be, of which 
we have satisfactory evidence, we earnestly hope it may attract the attention of 
capitalists and business men without delay." — Brooklyn Union. 

" A very interesting work. The subject is beginning to excite considerable 
attention, not only on account of the fears of a growing scarcity of wood, its 
high price, and also that of coal, but because it forms one of the products of in- 
dustry, which, when perfected from its raw state, forms, like mines of iron, 
lead, copper, and silver, great wealth to a nation." — Union and Journal, Bid- 
deford, Me. 

" A good-looking pamphlet of 120 pages, giving us all the information upon 
the subject of peat that the most laborious and extensive research can possibly 
furnish." — Lowell Courier. 

" It contains more historical facts on the formation of peat-beds than any 
thing we have heretofore seen." — New York Spirit of the Times. 

" A company in Boston have at length completed the invention of a simple 
and rational process, by which crude peat, as it is taken from its bed, can be 
converted into a solid, dry fuel, in good shape, in large quantities, and at a 
moderate cost. The machinery required is simple, and not too expensive for 
use, and can easily be set up and run by the side of the peat-bed. We have seen 
specimens of the peat condensed by this process, and are acquainted with the 
principle on which the machine works, and think there is no reason to doubt its 
efficiency. The personal character of the principal managers is fitted to inspire 
confidence that they would not come before the public, unless they had a good 
thing, calculated to be a general benefit. Indeed, their method may fairly claim 
to be not only the best, but the only one, so far as is known, in this country, 
that is at once effectual, cheap, and rapid. They are the pioneers of the present 
movement in favor of the use of peat, having been engaged for several years in 
their experiments and inquiries. Their actuary, Mr.- T. H. Leavitt, has pub- 
lished a pamphlet of 118 pages, containing more information — historical, sci- 
entific, and practical — about peat, we venture to say, than any other man in the 
country is possessed of ; and his perseverance is well entitled to the success 
which seems about to be realized. 

" Those who seek to be thoroughly informed should procure it. And those 
who would transact business with the company should address the agents, 
Leavitt & Hunnewell, 49 Congress Street, Boston." — Brooklyn Union. 

"A very handsomely printed and valuable pamphlet, containing facts' 
which are not only interesting, but, if borne out by actual experiment, of the 



316 APPENDIX. 

highest value. Turning- listlessly to its title-page, we became so much absorbed 
in its pages, that we read it as closely as an editor ever finds time to read any- 
thing; and we came to the conclusion that the company who have undertaken 
to develop the value of peat ought to be encouraged by all who have money to 
invest in new, and probably remunerative channels of trade or manufactures. 
The glowing heat and cheerful light of a peat fire are the very ultimatum of a 
social evening.' , — Providence Daily Press. 

" The work is deserving of more than passing notice. We commend it, and 
the subject of which it treats, to the attention of all ; for no subject is of wider 
interest than that of fuel." — Newport Daily News. 

tl There is an abundance of it, thousands and millions of cords, scattered all 
over New England, and indeed throughout the North. It lies at our very 
doors. It is time that our people were stirring themselves to see if it may not 
be brought into general use, in order to stop the waste of our forests, now grow- 
ing every year more valuable for timber, cheapen the cost of fuel, and render us 
less dependent upon coal monopolists and speculators for this indispensable 
article. The ' Facts,' compiled by Mr. Leavitt, embrace much interesting and 
valuable information." — Boston Journal. 

" A glance over its pages shows that the compiler has labored with care and 
discrimination in the collection and presentation of his materials. We have a 
fondness for peat. The fires of love never burn dimly beside it. Its introduc- 
tion as an article of fuel ie no mere fancy, but a subject of grave importance." 
— Brunswick Telegraph. 

" A thorough treatise on the qualities and practical uses of peat." — Old Col- 
ony Memorial. 

11 We consider it a valuable, timely, and interesting work. The whole com- 
munity are interested in the subject of which it treats." — Fall River News. 

" The questions of its supply, preparation, and most economical use, are of 
high interest ; and this pamphlet embodies much needed information, which will 
aid in their solution. It embraces much curious and instructive matter of prac- 
tical and scientific interest." — Lowell Citizen. 

" Mr. Leavitt's facts and remarks throw a great amount of light upon the sub- 
ject, and they ought to have a wide circulation. We have an abundance of 
peat; and the pamphlet tells us of its importance as an article of fuel, and how 
to prepare and use it." — Pawtucket, B. /., Gazette. 

" A valuable pamphlet, containing * Facts.' "—Salem Mercury. 



PRICE 50 CENTS. 



fi@~ Interesting to every Consumer of Fuel. 



PEAT FUEL: 



HOW TO MAKE IT 



AND 



HOW TO USE IT. 



WHAT IT COSTS AND WHAT IT IS WORTH 



BY T. H. LEAVITT. 



BOSTON: 

LEE Sc SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS. 

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